Task Force Report Highlights Potential Threats of Single-Use Plastic Bags

Apart from being a source of litter on land and in waterways, it also causes harm to marine habitats and wildlife. They often lead to jams in recycling equipment, which in turn leads to loss of time and huge sums of money.

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The New York Plastic Bag Task Force led by state Department of Environmental Conservation Commissioner Basil Seggos has released a new report that highlights the problems caused by single-use plastic bags. The comprehensive report also outlines the various measures taken to reduce plastic bag usage. The report has been forwarded to the New York State Legislature for necessary discussion and action.

According to the report, plastic bags present a number of problems. Apart from being a source of litter on land and in waterways, it also causes harm to marine habitats and wildlife. They often lead to jams in recycling equipment, which in turn leads to loss of time and huge sums of money. The recent studies conducted by Ellen MacArthur Foundation states that nearly five trillion pieces of plastics exist in the world’s oceans. By 2050, the weight of plastics in oceans is feared to surpass the weight of fish.

Another study led by a team of scientists from the University of Georgia, the University of California, Santa Barbara and Sea Education Association has found that almost 6.3 billion metric tons of plastic out of the total 8.3 billion metric tons generated between 1950s and 2015 has turned out to be waste. In this, only 9% has been recycled, whereas another 12% has been incinerated. The remaining 79% plastics have been accumulated in landfills or natural environment.

Municipalities across the New York State, across the US and across the world have implemented various measures to reduce circulation of single-use plastic bags. More than 75 countries across the world have some or other measures in place for single-use plastic bag reduction. Nearly one-third of these countries have implemented outright ban on usage of single-use plastic bags. Another one-third of these countries have instituted fees, whereas the remaining one-third of world countries has adopted diverse approaches.

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The report presents various legislative options such as strengthening existing Act, introducing manufacturer responsibility for recycling, imposing fees on plastic bags, imposing fee per transaction for single-use bags, imposing fees on paper bags, implement ban on use of plastic bags, implementing a hybrid scheme with a combination of fees and ban.

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