Starting March 1, New York State banned all single-use plastic bags. According to the Earth Day Network, about 1 trillion single-use plastic bags are used around the globe every year, or nearly 2 million each minute. It is important that all students understand the importance of the ban. However, while banning single-use plastic bags may seem like a good start to solving the issue of climate change, it is only the beginning.

Single-use plastic bags pollute bodies of water and are made from non-renewable sources that contribute to climate change. These plastics do not degrade like organic materials, such as food.

There is no universal answer for how long it really takes a single-use plastic bag to break down, but it is not biodegradable. Therein lies the problem.

To further complicate this issue, not all single-use plastic bags are banned from stores. The plastic bags that are sold at the deli and in the bulk sections of grocery stores, as well as garbage bags and takeout bags, are exempt from this state-wide ban.

Banning single-use plastic bags in grocery and retail stores is a good start, but that’s all it is — a start. By only banning the single-use plastic grocery or shopping bags but leaving garbage bags and other forms of plastic bags exempt, it won’t make much of a dent in the problem.

David Popp, a professor of public administration and international affairs at Syracuse University and expert in environmental economics, said the ban will not make much of a difference.

“It is likely to have a minimal impact, if any, on climate change,” he said. “Truly addressing climate change requires a much broader policy than simply banning plastic bags.”

Popp added that people who used those plastic bags for other purposes, such as lining waste baskets or picking up after their pets, will now go purchase bags designed for these purposes. This further contributes to the amount of plastic bags that are being used and ultimately discarded.

Matthew Huber, an associate professor of geography at SU, also addressed the minimal impact that the plastic bag ban will have.

“Overall, if we’re being serious, we live in a society inundated with plastic,” he said. “Overcoming our plastic addiction will require societal policy transformations that challenge the power of the petrochemical industry which not only sells us plastic but a variety of other chemical products. These industries are huge polluters in themselves, with massive carbon footprints, even if we consumers often never see the factories where plastic is produced.”

Huber also said the fact that other items like grocery bags, deli bags and other plastic bags are not banned just proves how difficult it is going to be to overcome the use of plastic altogether.

“It goes to show how logistically difficult overcoming plastics is unless we can provide viable alternatives on a mass scale,” he said.

Despite these drawbacks to the single-use plastic bag ban, it is important for SU and SUNY-ESF students alike to become involved in any way they can. By learning about possible alternatives, such as using reusable shopping bags or reducing their garbage bag and other single-use plastic bag consumption, students can help cut down their plastic use footprints.

The plastic bag ban is a good place for New York state to start, and while small transitions are often the easiest way for individuals to make a change to more eco-friendly habits, more immediate action needs to be taken to combat climate change.

Samantha Kolb is an environmental studies major at SUNY-ESF. Her column appears bi-weekly. She can be reached at sakolb@syr.edu. She can be followed on Twitter at @SamiiKolby.

Published on March 11, 2020 at 7:44 pm