A big issue in Austin today is the ban on retailers
providing customers with plastic bags. There are mixed feelings as to if this
ban is necessary, or if it is just another way of the government trying to take
away our rights. According to NACS, “retailers
must only provide plastic bags thicker than 4 millimeters, paper bags made with
40% recycled content or reusable cloth bags”. Many customers have been
surprised with the change and leave stores with loose groceries in their
shopping carts and cars.
The ban has not been a good decision so far and should be
repealed immediately. If not repealed then major changes need to be made to the
ban. An issue that is concerning to some citizens is that the city of Austin
wants us to use reusable bags, but they won’t supply them for free. People are
already going to the store because they are purchasing products; they don’t
want to have to now pay to buy bags to carry their products in. NACS says, “Walmart
now charges 10 cents for paper bags with handles and 50 cents for reusable
bags. At H-E-B, the first bag is now free, while additional bags cost 25 cents
each”.
Shouldn’t individual citizens be able to decide if they want
to use plastic bags or not? Isn’t it our right to decide that for ourselves? From
The Austin American Statesman, Republican state Rep. Drew Springer declared “the
ban a violation of every Texan’s basic right to carry home groceries and
whatnot in a plastic bag”. He recently filed House Bill 2416 “The Shopping Bag
Freedom Act”. Springer’s argument does not only come from the concern for
citizen’s rights, but also concern for their health. Springer states, “Austin’s
ban not only tramples on freedom but also threatens the public’s health, since
bag bans force shoppers to rely on reusable bags, which they rarely wash. Dirty
bags mean nasty and potentially deadly bacterial growth”.
I believe that the plastic bag ban should be repealed. Now I
don’t know if the ban will be repealed or kept, but the government should look
into the fact that they are requiring us citizens to do something we may not
want to do which takes away our freedom. Also, they need to realize what using
reusable bags will do for our health.
I absolutely agree with this post about the ban of plastic bags in the city of Austin. As a proud resident of this city that has some of the best grocery stores in the country and are the home base of Whole Foods market as an example; I find it pretty inconvenient to pay for a reusable bag whenever I forget to bring one to the grocery store. The problem would be a lot simpler if it was just a case of convenience we were discussing but this new law also represents an added cost to many families for that trip to Walt-Mart or H.E.B as they now need to spend some extra dollars for bags in order to carry the groceries home. In many other cities where this law has been implemented businesses have seen an increase in shoplifting as a consequence of the bag ban; costing grocery store thousands of dollars, a problem they didn’t have to deal with beforehand. As one could assume, it’s easier to hide items in your reusable bag than it would be in an empty grocery cart.
ReplyDeleteThere is also a health concern that environmentalists have forgotten to address with these reusable bags. When you load your bag full of groceries there can be something that falls off or leaks that may go unnoticed when you empty your bag. In a plastic bag, that’s not a big problem . Nevertheless, with a reusable bag even if you think you have wiped it up with a paper towel ,there is very likely to be some of those germs left over . This facilitates the spread and growth of bacteria that can contaminate the other items.
I also believe that forcing us to use reusable bags takes away from our freedom as individuals to decide whether we want to use this plastic bags or not. It's a pretty intrusive regulation, and not a good one. I have high hopes for it to get repealed in a near future.
I completely disagree with this post. The intentions of the bag ban is not work on another step to better the environment, not your pocket. If one is financially responsible enough to be able to purchase groceries, one should be able to purchase one or two dollar reusable bag that holds double if not triple what a plastic bag holds.
ReplyDeleteI'm 20 and I live in Pflugerville and have previous experience working at a grocery store, the bag ban has not even been enforced here and 8 out of the 10 people that walk out the door have groceries in a reusable bag. I have my own reusable bags, and there are so many different kinds that make it difficult to forget, like the ones that are compact enough to fit in a woman's purse. It's difficult to come up with an excuse to not bring a reusable bag when the positives outweigh the negatives. The plastic bags that the few heartbroken are so desperate to use are the same plastic bags that are not biodegradable, they trap wild life, and if thrown away instead of recycling they end up in our waste composites and create harmful toxins when burned.
As far as the reusable bags being unsanitary, that is one's own prerogative. If one would like a clean place to put their groceries then there are ways to sanitize one's bags.
I think it's safe to say spending an extra dollar for something one can reuse at any store as they please is worth saving hundreds of thousands of animals, not unintentionally polluting our air and creating a less harmful place to live in.
Since plastic bags were invented in1840, they have given a lot of convenience for our lives due to their practicality, so most of the grocery stores have used them for packing customers’ purchases.
ReplyDeleteHowever, recently we started to realize the serious problems that plastic bags pose for our health. Hence, the state government started a ban on retailers providing customers with plastic bags, and as a result, it has been a big issue in Austin today, and there are mixed feeling as to if this ban is necessary.
Jessica’s article exactly describes Austin citizens’ frustration because they can’t use convenient plastic bags. She thinks that banning plastic bags is just another way of the government trying to take away our rights. She also emphasizes individual citizen should be able to decide if they want to use plastic bags or not, and it is our right.
It is true. Banning plastic bags is definitely creating so many inconveniences, and many that feel the government took away our right to choose. However, have you ever thought about why the government tries to use this system even though it causes citizens lots of inconveniences or how using too many plastic bags is much more harmful for our health than worrying about reusable bags’ “deadly bacterial growth” ?
If the government only thinks about the economic cost cutting by banning plastic bags, it is an definitely exploitation of our right to choose. However, more than anything else, the important thing is related to our health. If we know about how using plastic bags has much more serious and harmful health problems, we definitely can overcome or be a little bit more patient when it comes to these inconveniences.
According to scientific research, plastic bags can take up to 1000 years to degrade back into the soil, and they also release carcinogen, a huge amount of cancer causing agent during the degrading time. As another reason, plastic bags are also made from polyethylene which is derived from natural gas and crude oil, so using lots of plastic bags depletes natural resources. Plastic bags can have lots of problems for our future.
How about suggesting good sources for reducing customers’ inconveniences? For example, stores can discount some money for customers who bring their own bags or pack groceries in actual trash bags for a cost rather than claiming the plastic bag ban should be repealed. It is more rational, and it also better for our health, and moreover, for our next generation’s bright future, it will be better in the long run.
Hello Jessica,
ReplyDeleteAll things being equal, we should not have Government dictate our personal lives and the choices we make. Unfortunately, we elect or vote an authority to do (in part) exactly that. We are humans with unlimited wants and needs and very limited resources. While ironic, it is true. If it were not for Government intervention and laws, we would not have regulations that have made us the most productive, healthy, strong citizens that are the envy of so many other nations. I was one of them and I am grateful for this system.
This brings me to your blog on Plastic bag ban in Austin. The benefits of removing plastic bags from stores are far more advantageous to the lingering concern to our environment in the future, which is devastating. According to healthguidance.org, approximately 300 million plastic bags end up in the Atlantic Ocean, which threatens the integrity of the ocean in sustaining pollution free environment for marine life. Fish and birds mistake plastic bags for food, which if consumed can block their airways leading to unwanted death. On a larger scale (and it is already a concern, hence the law in many counties including the U.S.), this would certainly be a devastation for all animals and aquatic organisms that come in contact with the bloody thing, which would affect us directly (unless we all convert to vegetarianism!).
The other issues with plastic bag (and most other plastic for that matter) are the longevity of its existence. These bad boys hang around long after you and me and our great great great great great grandchildren are long gone. A plastic landfill lasts a thousand years or more before it disintegrates, damaging the earth even at its smallest state. Not to mention the amount of fuel oil required to make the darn thing. I am certain we can both agree there has got to be a better place to spend it (heating, vehicle fuel, for instance).
Finally, I found your last point on your blog a little amusing, rather in a good way. Reusable bags do get dirty and disgusting, very true. But that is exactly why they are "reusable". They are so because we can clean them. Do you wear disposable clothes? Do you throw away your running shoes every two/three days and buy a new one because they have gotten sweaty and wet? Grocery bags are of the same category. We have to wash them and keep them clean, just like we do with our dishes and clothing (genius is whoever created dishwasher and washing machine). I sincerely hope this provokes your thoughts and reconsider your original argument. Plastic bags are a burden to our wellbeing. In the long run, they are far worse than our temporary contact with germs. Because the latter we can wash away.