Should Plastic Bags Be Banned?

Single-use plastic bags are a staple of modern life in most countries. Plastic bags offer convenience to consumers, but they affect the environment in a slow but fatal manner. Environmental groups insist that those plastic bags should be disallowed. The number of countries which regulate the use of plastic bags with laws has been increasing around the world.

Proponents in favor of banning plastic bags claim that manufacturing and recycling them cost a huge amount of money. Thin bags costing several tens of billion won a year, for example, solely in Korea are just used to handle produce and groceries. The raw material for plastic goods is extracted from crude oil. If a ban on plastic bags holds in effect, the money going into the import of crude oil will decrease.

In addition, plastic bags contribute to environmental pollution and they are one of the commonest forms of litter, according to environmental activists. ¡°Single-use plastic bags which choke the environment should be banned or phased out rapidly everywhere,¡± said Achim Steiner, executive director of the U.N. Environment Program. His office advises U.N. member states on environmental policies. If plastic bags end up in the trash, they will take forever to degrade, he added.

Advocates also argue that a ban on plastic bags may cause a little inconvenience, but this will offset much more valuable assets in the nature. The advocates say that carrying one's own shopping bag can be one of the solutions. Another option for consumers to choose is to order produce or groceries online, either over the phone or through the Internet. Such inconvenience, to a degree, is tolerable when such inconvenience helps save the Earth.

On the other hand, objectors of banning plastic bags claim that a ban on plastic bags can cause some unintended consequences. In particular, the increased demand for paper bags will double greenhouse emissions and create a dramatic increase in waste. Plastic bags have substituted paper bags. The situation will go into reverse. If paper bags replace plastic bags, a disaster expected from environmental damage will be crystal clear. So a ban on plastic bags is nothing but a house of cards.

In addition, those who are hostile to banning plastic bags argue that such regulation will give consumers much inconvenience. For example, consumers will have to use the boxes the groceries were shipped in, but it is too much trouble to cut the cardboard down to fit into the recycle bin or to get rid of them. In addition, every shopper should bring his or her own bag whenever doing shopping. Consumers will be faced with a much more serious nuisance.

Another downside is thinkable. The people who make plastic bags will be out of jobs. Manufacturers of plastic bags will lose their business. A complete ban of plastic bags cannot be an agreeable solution. If people reuse and recycle those plastic bags better, maybe that will not be a problem.

It is an issue to solve whether the regulation of plastic retail bags should be an educational campaign about reusable bags or a complete ban. Wisdom and practice are needed.