I hate to keep harping on the bag ban issue, but after reading this blog post by Megan, one of my classmates, I got fired up about it all over again. In her post, Megan makes a strong case against the ban by outlining four reasons why she doesn't think it's a good idea.
The first reason she gives is that $2 million will be used on educating the public about the ban. Of course all of that $2 million will come out of tax-payers' pockets, and there will be additional costs for the retailer to put up signs reminding customers to bring their reusable bags. She argues that, one way or another, those additional costs will likely end up coming from the tax-payers as well. To add to her point, many stores have already payed for programs that make it easier for customers to recycle their plastic bags. Now that that money will go to waste, stores will likely be looking to charge more for their products in order to break even.
Next, Megan touches on the sanitation issue of the reusable bags. She argues that cross-contamination will become a problem with the store employees touching so many different bags. People who are for the bag ban might argue that this shouldn't be an issue because people can wash the bags. While that's a valid point, I still take Megan's side on this because, while those bags are washable, that doesn't mean everyone is going to wash them. I could wash my bag, but if someone else doesn't wash theirs, that would still pose a risk to me. I find it interesting that a lot of people who are pro bag ban make the argument that they shouldn't have to live with the consequences of other people's actions when they litter, but are perfectly fine with the possibility of having their bag cross contaminated by careless individuals.
Her third reason for being against the bag ban is that people will forget to bring their bag to the stores. This would not only be an inconvenience, but Megan argues that it could also lead to shoplifting since people would be forced to carry their items out of the store. To add to her point about inconvenience, for me personally, I don't always go straight to the store from my house. Being a college student, I usually wake up in the morning, go to class, and could spend all day on campus before returning home at night. I may not realize I need to go to the store until the middle of the day, and if I'm not at home, that means I would have to stop by my house to get my bag before going to the store. This may not seem like a big deal, but with gas prices so high, I want to do as little driving as possible.
Megan's final problem with the bag ban is that it prevents people from recycling them in their own useful ways. Growing up in a house that always used plastic grocery store bags as trash can liners, it's difficult for me to imagine life without them. I also like that Megan points out the irony in that many organizations use plastic bags to pick up litter around the state. It seems that plastic bags are doing their part to clean up after themselves, especially considering they're not even in the top ten most littered items in our state.
Overall, I thought that Megan made a very good argument, and I appreciate how organized it was. Like I said, even though I already agreed with her on this issue, her post got me excited to revisit the topic, and build off of the well thought out arguments she presents.
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