Almost everybody has a "bag of many bags" at home, where all the plastic bags from stores and supermarkets end up. They are usually kept to be used again. Although reusing is a great way to reduce the amount of plastic in the environment, it cannot decrease plastic production and use on its own. Evidence is clear—many streets are littered with plastic waste and landfills are getting fuller by the day. Even if we try to reuse as much as possible, the bag of many bags keeps getting new members. The issue of plastic pollution has led to various prohibitions and legislations in many world cities over the last decade. This is particularly noticeable regarding plastic bags and straws, showing many citizens' eagerness to reduce plastic waste and clean up the environment.
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Plastic bags are cheap, convenient, and easy to produce, so they were commonly given for free by many retailers. However, this situation has started to change in recent years. Many fashion and supermarket retailers now charge their customers for every plastic bag they hand out or provide a biodegradable alternative. This practice has proved very effective in reducing plastic consumption. California was the first American state to enact legislation banning single-use plastic bags at large retail stores in 2014. One year after implementation, the City of San Jose reported that storm drain systems were 89% cleaner, while the city streets and creeks were 60% cleaner. In England, the sales of plastic bags by the seven biggest supermarket chains have plummeted since authorities imposed a charge on all plastic bags in 2015. Earlier this year, the City of New York decided to take an even more radical measure—all plastic carry-out bags were banned from distribution starting March 1, 2020.
Depending on the city, the production cost of a standard plastic grocery bag is about 1 cent. Even though this is true, it is misleading, as it does not include a very important expense—waste management. Convenience and low production costs made plastic bags seem like a cheap and effective solution, but they actually come at a much greater price. To find the true cost of a plastic bag, we need to look into two important components of plastic production and use: financial and environmental perspectives.
Financial Perspective
When we think about the price of a plastic bag, we usually only consider production and distribution expenses while overlooking the price of waste management. While the market price of a plastic bag may be about 1 cent, its management and disposal can be 10-20 times more expensive. Waste management expenses include collecting and disposing of bags, removing them from the streets, processing in landfills, and decontaminating recycling streams. For example, in 2004, the City of San Francisco estimated that waste management expenses for a single plastic bag add up to 17 cents. The total cost of litter collection and disposal in the US is estimated to be at least 11.5 billion dollars annually. Businesses cover about 80% of the cost, but the rest is paid by taxpayers' money. Instead of building new schools, hospitals, libraries, and parks, billions of dollars are spent each year on litter abatement.
All these financial efforts are still not enough to prevent significant amounts of plastics from entering the oceans each year and to clean up existing pollution.
Environmental Perspective
More than 8 million metric tons of plastic waste enter the oceans each year. A significant part of that waste includes plastic bags and single-use plastic packaging. A walk on any beach in the world reveals the effects of this pollution—plastic flotsam and jetsam float on the ocean's surface and wash up on all world beaches. Besides being unsightly, these plastic items threaten both marine and terrestrial life.
We have seen countless pictures of birds, fish, and other marine creatures with their bellies full of nurdles, turtles choking on plastic bags, and storks trapped in plastic fibers. Over time, these larger chunks of plastic break down into tiny, microscopic particles known as microplastics. These particles are invisible to the naked eye, just like pollution in the air we breathe. And just like we breathe polluted air, marine creatures breathe polluted water. Even species that do not directly ingest plastic are affected by it through feeding on fish and other species that ingest it regularly and by living in waters containing microplastics. This includes humans as well.
Given that seafood is an important part of the diet in many countries and global demand for it is increasing every year, it is clear that humanity is also increasingly ingesting microplastics. All species of life, every drop of water, and every stone on this planet are connected. If we look deeply into how life works, it becomes apparent that everything happens in cycles. It is not hard to see how every plastic bag, straw, fiber, or other plastic item thrown into our environment will return to us—carried in our bodies, not in our hands. Plastic is not only polluting our beautiful home; it is also threatening our health and food sources.
Conclusion
Looking at the problem from all sides and considering all this information, it becomes clear that a plastic bag costs far more than a penny or twenty cents. While the cost of production and management is easy to calculate, estimating the total cost is nearly impossible. Can we put a price tag on an entire ecosystem? Or on our health? Can we put a price tag on the future of our children? The answer to all these questions is quite clearly—no.
Story at a glance
- Plastic bag fees have become ubiquitous in some parts of the country amid government efforts to curb Americans' plastic consumption.
- State and local governments determine where the money from the fees goes.
- It is unclear how the money is being used in some cities. But in many places, the money collected from these fees is going toward environmental cleanup or distributing reusable plastic shopping bags to marginalized communities.
Many state and local governments have implemented plastic bag fees at grocery stores to curb Americans' plastic pollution. But where does all the money from those fees actually go?
The answer differs across the various areas where fees have been put in place.
Over 100 states and localities have passed legislation mandating a fee for carryout plastic bags, according to data from the Retail Industry Leaders Association.
In general, these plastic bag fees or taxes have gone to existing funds in states or municipalities that pay for environmental clean-up or conservation efforts, according to a spokesperson for the Plastic Pollution Coalition, an advocacy group working to stop plastic pollution.
For example, most of Washington, D.C.'s 5-cent single-use plastic bag fee goes toward the cleanup of local waterways.
In 2009, D.C. became the first city in the nation to pass legislation implementing single-use plastic bag and paper bag fees.
Under the legislation, the business providing the plastic bags gets to keep one cent of the five-cent fee. If the business offers a rebate for customers who bring in their own bag, they can keep two cents, according to the city's Department of Energy and Environment.
Businesses must give the remaining money to the Office of Tax and Revenue, which is then put towards the Anacostia River Clean Up and Protection Fund by the city, a spokesperson for the Department of Energy and Environment confirmed.
The Anacostia River, which runs from the city's Maryland suburbs to downtown D.C., is home to 800,000 people and dozens of species of fish and birds.
Both people and wildlife have been negatively affected by the trash, sewage runoff, oil, metals, and other pollution that has plagued the river for years, according to the Environmental Protection Agency.
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The water was so polluted that swimming in the river was banned for more than 50 years due to safety concerns.
D.C. has collected millions of dollars since the fee was mandated. In fiscal year 2021 alone, the city collected more than $1,946,000 in bag fees from regulated businesses, according to a 2021 Bag Law annual summary report.
Funds from single-use plastic bag fees are also frequently used for plastic pollution education and the distribution of reusable bags to SNAP and WIC recipients, according to the Plastic Pollution Coalition spokesperson.
This is the case in both D.C. and Boulder, Colo.
D.C.'s Department of Energy and Environment spent over $335,000 of Bag Law revenue in 2021 for "outreach and reusable plastic bag distribution," according to the Bag Law annual summary.
Colorado mandated a statewide plastic bag fee from January 2023 until early 2024, when a complete ban on single-use plastic bags will begin.
A fee has been in place in Boulder longer than that, however: The city adopted a Disposable Bag Fee Ordinance in 2012 and has since required stores within the city to charge customers 10 cents per single-use plastic bag.
Under the ordinance, stores can keep four cents of the fee to help pay for the cost of complying with the law, and the remaining six cents are given back to the city.
"The city portion of this fee has been used to purchase reusable bags for the community and food banks, compostable bin liners for businesses, community education, and some recycling infrastructure to allow for better plastic bag recycling," a spokesperson for the City of Boulder told The Hill.
When the ordinance was first adopted, Boulder residents used about 33 million carryout plastic bags a year. After the plastic bag fee was imposed, the city saw about a 70 percent decrease in plastic bag use, according to the city's website.
Since 2018, Boulder has collected about $1,000,000 from the plastic bag fee, the website adds.
Bag fee funds can also be used for additional or broader waste reduction management, but money from this year's fees has not gone toward those efforts yet in Boulder, the spokesperson added.
In some other cities where plastic bag fees or taxes have been implemented, such as Chicago, it is unclear how the collected money is spent.
The City of Chicago has yet to respond to questions from The Hill about how money from its Checkout Bag Tax is used.
While data shows that plastic bag taxes and fees have helped to discourage American shoppers from using plastic carryout bags, environmentalists stress that bans are a better long-term solution to the country’s plastic pollution problem.
"This is a strategy known to get people in the habit of opting for reusable bags while avoiding plastic altogether," said Erica Cirino, communications manager for the Plastic Pollution Coalition.
"Reuse is a key principle (along with refill, repair, share, and regenerate) to eliminate wastefulness and pollution caused by the production of single-use packaging and items, especially plastic."
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