Austin’s plastic bag ban has led to significant litter reduction, says study

The ban on single-use plastic bags has reduced Austin's roadside litter significantly. However, the ban has resulted in some unintended consequences as well, notes the most recent study conducted by Austin Resource Recovery (ARR).

AUSTIN (Scrap Monster): The recent study report released by Austin Resource Recovery (ARR) indicates that the city’s ban on single-use plastic bags has reduced roadside litter significantly. On the other hand, the number of reusable bags that land up in recycling bins has increased considerably. It should be noted that Austin had banned the use of single-use plastic bags in March 2013, in an effort to protect the environment.

The study revealed that the ban has been successful in achieving its intended goal by reducing roadside litter substantially. Studies indicate that single-use plastic bags made up 0.12% of roadside litter in Fort Worth which does not have a ban in place, whereas Austin’s bag composition rate stood much lower at 0.03%. The ordinance has reduced the quantity of bags going to landfills by as much as 85%.

However, the ban on single-use plastic bags has resulted in some unintended consequences too. The study indicated that residents are not adequately reusing the thicker plastic bags. Instead they throw it into recycling bins, from where the MRFs send them to landfills. The report recommends redesigning of thicker plastic bags in such a way that they give clear signals to residents to reuse instead of recycling them.

Upon implementation of the ban, many grocery stores had switched to thicker 4 mils plastic bags made of HDPE and LDPE. Some stores had switched to paper bags. The ARR study noted that the replacement paper bags were too thin, making it unable to reuse them more number of times. The study recommends changing the specification of paper bags in order to make them more durable.

The ARR report also recommends educating residents on recycling and encouraging surrounding cities to implement a similar ban.

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