The recently-announced planned ban on plastic shopping bags in Los Angeles is a landmark decision for the bag’s opponents. With Wednesday's decision, L.A. becomes the largest U.S. city -- and just the latest in a growing number of metropolitan areas worldwide -- that are either banning or taxing the use of plastic bags.
The ripple effect of this news is being felt across a wide spectrum of industries.
Plastic bag manufacturers are still working out their collective response. “Understanding and conveying the business impact is a little premature,” said Donna Dempsey, spokesperson for the American Progressive Bag Alliance, a group representing the five largest plastic bag manufacturers in the U.S. and about 4,700 workers nationwide.
The alliance estimates that more than 30,000 American manufacturing jobs in 349 plants could be affected by proposed ordinances to ban and tax plastic bags. APBA also notes the U.S. is the world leader in recycling plastic bags and film – which in turn fuels green technologies and jobs.
Some retailers have already made preparations when it comes to a future with fewer plastic shopping bags.
Kroger, one of the nation's largest grocery retailers, reportedly saved more than 159 million plastic bags in 2010. “The Kroger family of stores is in a unique position to help customers reduce plastic bag use and transition to reusable bags,” said Keith Dailey, the company’s director of external corporate communications, in an email to GreenBiz.
“In fact, our goal is to save a billion bags by 2014," Dailey said. "We plan to achieve this goal through associate education, new parking lot signage, and changing customer habits.“
Dailey says Kroger and its “family of stores” -- including Ralphs, King Soopers, QFC and other supermarkets -- have reduced plastic bag usage by offering an array of reusable bags. And the company’s report on sustainability says that last year Kroger retailers sold and provided over five million reusable bags— an average of 14,000 reusable shopping bags per day, the report estimates.
Next page: Changes for the paper bag industry?
Wow, unexpected news in this
Wow, unexpected news in this article: The "U.S. is the world leader in recycling plastic bags and film". Well, according to info on APBA's website the US is recycling 14 % of its plastic bags. 14 %. Compared with over 60 % of plastics being recycled in Germany I don't think this is a world leading position - even taking into account that the latter figure includes all plastic packaging, not only bags.
I see a main problem in giving away thin plastic bags for free as they can by design only be used once. The problem is not the carbon footprint of bags - it's that a plastic bag will not decompose, but stay forever. Google for "Plastic Planet" or "Great Pacific Garbage Patch" to see what that means in reality.
Even China addressed that issue several years ago by banning thin bags completely (and they are really not an "eco-country"). The US is, again, lagging behind. Or take Ireland as an example for taxing bags. By the way, in Germany plastic bags are not banned - but nearly all retailers don't give them away for free since something like the early 1990s. You pay 10 cents for it (not a thin bag, it's a bag which can hold several bottles). You can also buy a paper bag. Or buy a reusable thick bag for one dollar. And - magic - you can bring your own bag for free. The customer is free to decide. And by the way, the economy still works.