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On World Environment Day 2018, numerous organisations announced new plans and actions to address plastic related issues such as litter, pollution and harm to wildlife. Mallika Naguran takes a look at the environmental movements and pledges made by A Plastic Planet, The Travel Corporation and The Millenium Hotels in this report.
SINGAPORE, 5 June 2018. The 5th of June has been an important date for many companies and organisations - this year's World Environment Day called for serious action against plastics foremost.

A unique coalition of various agencies, civic organisations, non-governmental organisations, media and brands through A Plastic Planet. This international campaign group took to social media for rallying against plastic-packaged products. They urged people to take a photo of the product that they were giving up for One Plastic Free Day and share it on social media, saying why they have been inspired to #PassOnPlastic.

One Plastic Free Day was a call for action to people from around the world to avoid plastic-packaged food and drink products for 24 hours.

Coinciding with World Environment Day, One Plastic Free Day backed by celebrities including adventurer Ben Fogle and Hollywood actress Bonnie Wright also prompted international companies to pledge to reduce their plastic footprint.

In February this year A Plastic Planet launched the world's first Plastic Free Aisle in an Amsterdam branch of Dutch supermarket chain Ekoplaza.

Earlier this month the group announced that UK supermarket giant Iceland is to become the first UK retailer to adopt A Plastic Planet's Plastic Free Trust Mark across its range of own brand products, joining Ekoplaza, which is rolling out the Plastic Free Trust Mark throughout its 74 stores.

More brands and supermarkets are expected to introduce the Trust Mark on their plastic-free products later this year.

One Plastic Free Day's supporting partners from across Europe, Asia and the Americas include Sky Ocean Rescue, Live Nation, Vice Media, Iceland Foods, Ekoplaza, Bluewater, Royal Caribbean Cruises, Mediacom, One Young World, Volvo Ocean Race, TimeOut, Spotify, Sky News, Sky Sports, Jack Johnson, Street Wisdom, Trash Hero World, Indonesian Waste Platform, Good Market, Jakarta Post, EcoCentric, Bye Bye Plastic Bags, Uplift, Antana, Avani Eco, Roar Media, and CECRPA (Chinese Ecological Civilization Research & Promotion Association).

A Plastic Planet Co-Founder Sian Sutherland said: "One Plastic Free Day will touch the lives of millions of people around the world. Across every continent, people are waking up to the fact that plastic has absolutely no place in food and drink. Where is the logic in wrapping something as fleeting as food in something as indestructible as plastic?

"Our addiction to plastic is this generation's smoking. For years, we were blissfully unaware of the terrible damage done by throwaway packaging to our oceans, our soil and the health of future generations. Now we know the truth.

"One Plastic Free Day is all about uniting the world to turn off the plastic tap. It's just one day to think twice before reaching for that plastic-wrapped food and drink product. None of us are plastic saints; just do what you can."

Fiona Morgan, Head of Inspiring Action, Sky Ocean Rescue, said: "The world's first One Plastic Free Day represents a big moment in the fight to stop our oceans from drowning in plastic and spreading the word. We all aim to inspire people to make simple everyday changes to eradicate single-use plastic as the problem can be solved by working together. We're delighted to support A Plastic Planet to encourage people to #PassOnPlastic on June 5."

Bye Bye Plastic Bags Founder Melati Wijsen said: "The beauty of One Plastic Free Day is that it is inspiring millions of young people across Asia and beyond. It's a wonderful action that gets everyone thinking, slowly changing and suddenly it isn't just one day but everyday in which your lifestyle becomes more plastic-free. I've seen what plastic waste has done to my home in Bali and I want to make sure that the world unites so that we stop plastic ruining our beautiful Earth."
The Travel Corporation Phases Out Single-use Plastics
In its continued commitment to ensure the environment remains vibrant for generations to come, The Travel Corporation's (TTC) family of brands today announced on World Environment Day that over the next five years it will phase out all single-use plastics from its extensive selection of travel and tourism companies with its "Multi-Year Plastics Elimination Strategy".

The announcement comes as TTC, under the guidance of their not-for-profit TreadRight Foundation, officially instituted an immediate ban of more than 60 types of single-use plastic items such as straws, stir sticks, water bottles, plastic bags, and cutlery from its 40 global offices across its exceptional portfolio of brands.

The single-use plastic ban at TTC offices is the first step in the group's journey to the complete elimination of single-use plastics across all operations, which will also include the phasing out of single-use plastics across its Uniworld Boutique River Cruises and U by Uniworld cruise ships, all Red Carnation Hotels, and all travel experiences. It is estimated that TTC's efforts has the potential to help eliminate the use of millions of plastic water bottles annually.

The Last Straw: Millennium Hotels Take a Stand Against Single-Use Plastics
Millennium Hotels and Resorts (MHR) has responded to the call to beat plastic pollution and pledged it will end the use of single-use plastics across its six hotels in Singapore.

In joining the global fight against plastics, the hotel group will not only help save the environment by cutting out over 260kg of plastics per month, it will also see savings of nearly $500,000 a year that would have otherwise been spent on plastics.

The Singapore hotels - Orchard Hotel, Grand Copthorne Waterfront Hotel, M Hotel, Studio M, M Social and Copthorne King's Hotel - will phase out the use of disposable plastics by June 2019 and opt for greener alternatives. This includes plastic straws, stirrers, plastic bags, cutlery and toiletry bottles in over 2,600 rooms.

The six properties are part of Millennium & Copthorne Hotels (M&C), the largest Singapore-controlled international hotel owning and operating company.

Currently, M Social has replaced plastic straws with paper ones and are using environmentally-friendly packaging and cutlery for their 'Order & Grab' service. The other hotels in the Group are following suit to replace plastic straws and stirrers for room service and at their restaurants. In addition, Orchard Hotel and Studio M are also planning to use dispensers in hotel rooms for toiletries for their guests.

Mr Lee Richards, Vice President of Operations (South East Asia), MHR, said, "While the hotel industry benefits from the convenience of using plastic products, we see that it has long-lasting adverse impact on the environment. We have been committed to reducing our carbon footprint and promoting energy consumption, and we now want to further these efforts, and eliminate the use of single-use plastics in our hotels."

Mr Richards said the upcoming initiatives are part of MHR's sustainability efforts, where guests also play a role. For example, the group is planning to roll out green meeting packages, where water jugs are provided in place of plastic water bottles, and notepads are made from recycled paper. Additionally, guests can help in conserving water and energy, by opting not to have towels and linens changed everyday.

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Single-use Plastic Bans to Prevent Pollution - Gaia Discovery

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On World Environment Day 2018, numerous organisations announced new plans and actions to address plastic related issues such as litter, pollution and harm to wildlife. Mallika Naguran takes a look at the environmental movements and pledges made by A Plastic Planet, The Travel Corporation and The Mil

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This article was created in partnership with the National Geographic Society.

A battle over plastic-a material so prolific the UN calls the 90 percent of it that ends up as trash a pollution crisis-is under way in Florida.

Coral Gables, a small city of 51,000 people just south of Miami, wants to ban polystyrene from restaurants and grocery stores. The Florida Retail Federation does not, and an appeals court ruling delivered yesterday says they can keep the plastic product, in part thanks to a 2016 state rule that prevents cities from regulating how polystyrene is used.

The court battle demonstrates how cities and states are increasingly clashing over whether it's legal to ban plastic.

California, New York, and hundreds of municipalities in the U.S. ban or fine the use of plastic in some way. Seventeen other states, however, say it's illegal to ban plastic items, effectively placing a ban on a ban. This kind of legal maneuvering is booming. Four states created preemptions this year alone with two only narrowly failing in South Carolina and Alabama.

Often, efforts to preempt plastic bans are aided by the plastics industry, which wants to ensure its products remain widely used.

"First and foremost, we represent the manufacturers of plastic retail bags," says Matt Seaholm, executive director of the American Progressive Bag Alliance, a group affiliated with the plastics industry. "We engage at a local level to provide information to local officials on the merits of any type of an ordinance that is being proposed."

Seaholm said the industry is also looking out for local retailers. He adds plastic bans drive up costs, impose confusing regulations, and put in the hands of the government a decision that should be made by consumers and business owners.

Often partnering with local retail and restaurant associations, the industry is at odds with environmental groups that say single-use plastic must be urgently addressed.

"The plastic industry is putting a lot of their money on preemption, and they're winning," says Jennie Romer, an attorney at the Surfrider Foundation, a group that advocates for pro-environment policies.

Eight additional states are considering preemption measures in the coming years that could make it illegal to ban single-use plastics.

When the small border town of Laredo, Texas tried to pass a bill that banned plastic bags in 2008, they wanted to cut down on the costs associated with cleaning the commonly littered item out of waterways and public spaces.

With lobbying help from the American Chemistry Council, the bill was killed, according to an investigation by the Houston Chronicle.

In 2014, the bill was reintroduced and passed by the city. Even the state's multibillion-dollar cotton and cattle ranching industries supported the ban, saying the stray plastic tumbleweeds clogged machines and cows' stomachs.

Four years later, the Texas Supreme Court ruled that the ban was illegal, saying it violated a 1993 law that prevented cities or counties from banning a container or package. With it, the ruling brought down 11 other local Texas bag bans.

"It was pretty disappointing," says Jason McCombs from Austin's waste management authority. "We lost a pretty important environmental tool to help protect our environment here."

In Colorado, it was also a 1993 statute that pro-plastic lawyers used to argue against city bans.

For most states, however, no decades-old law was on the books to prevent a plastic ban. Some of the fastest legislative action in states like Pennsylvania, Arizona, and Missouri have rapidly developed after city plastic ordinances were adopted. These state bills all cite the need to create uniform laws throughout their states, a major point made by Seaholm.

"If you think about a retailer with stores in multiple jurisdictions, it becomes cumbersome to adhere to different processes," he says. "You end up with a patchwork."

When asked why the plastic industry tries to change state legislation instead of opposing city ordinances, Seaholm says it's to ensure this uniformity.

State-level preemptions are used to block a number of other city-level ordinances, from creating sanctuary cities to imposing sugar taxes.

Romer says large companies are more successful at the state level where legislators are less often confronted by grass roots city activists.

She also points to significant involvement from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) a right-leaning policy group that provides model legislation to states adopting plastic preemptions. Both the American Plastics Council and the Plastics Industry Association have been members of ALEC.

The effectiveness of bans

In Austin, McCombs says city residents have still embraced reusable bags even though plastic has been reintroduced. Since the ordinance was put in place in 2013, they've seen a 75 percent reduction in the number of plastic bags in collected litter, and they still plan to be a zero-waste city by 2040.

The American Progressive Bag Alliance often challenges the idea that plastic bans are a truly environmental option.

Plastic bags, they argue, have more than a single use. They can be reused for tasks like lining trash cans or picking up dog waste. Their website cites a study in the journal of Environmental Economics and Management that found California consumers often purchased heavier trash bags to compensate.

A statewide ban that led to a 40-million-pound reduction in plastic waste, was offset by a 12-million-pound increase in trash bags, the study found.

The paper ultimately recommended imposing bag fees, like the five-cent charge you pay to use a plastic bag in Washington, D.C. The fee, the paper concludes, would could cost less than buying small trash bags but still encourage shoppers to bring reusable bags.

The Surfrider Foundation also encourages fees instead of outright bans as the most effective way to incentivize consumers to change their behavior.

To fight back against preemptions, legislators have recently begun to draft anti-preemption laws that would allow cities to reinstate bans and fees on plastic items-the dreaded ban on ban of bans.

Eight states have introduced anti-preemption bills, though none have significantly progressed.

National Geographic is committed to reducing plastics pollution. Learn more about our non-profit activities at natgeo.org/plastics. This story is part ofPlanet or Plastic?-our multiyear effort to raise awareness about the global plastic waste crisis. Learn what you can do toreduce your own single-use plastics, andtake your pledge.

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See the complicated landscape of plastic bans in the U.S.

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This article was created in partnership with the National Geographic Society. A battle over plastic-a material so prolific the UN calls the 90 percent of it that ends up as trash a pollution crisis-is under way in Florida. Coral Gables, a small city of 51,000 people just south of Miami, wants to ban polystyrene from restaurants and grocery stores.

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160,000 plastic bags are used globally every second! 5 trillion plastic bags are produced yearly! 1,000,000 plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute. And these plastic products are produced using petroleum, natural gas and other chemicals. Its production is toxic to the environment. Plastic will only start degrading after 700 years and will only fully degrade in 1000 years. This means that all the plastic that has ever been produced has not degraded yet. Plastic products remain toxic even after they break down. They don't biodegrade, they photo-degrade. It means that after they degrade, they break down into smaller and smaller toxic bits of themselves - and bleed and contaminate the environment.

In May 2012, two Supreme Court judges, Justice Singhvi and Justice Mukhopadhaya, said that "the next generation will be threatened with something more serious than the atom bomb" unless a "total ban on plastic is put in place".

The efforts of governments and retailers will go to waste if we, the consumers, don't contribute to the effort of reducing plastic usage. Many state governments have banned some or most plastic articles (Examples include, Karnataka, Maharashtra and Jammu and Kashmir). However, in Jammu and Kashmir, many vendors have not heard of the three-month-old ban. In Karnataka and Punjab, where a ban is in place since 2016, it remains ineffective in most parts, as there is widespread availability of and demand for polythene bags. Yes, you've been so used to it. It's cheap and convenient to carry things in plastic bags or drink beverages using plastic straws or even to buy a packet of chips at the supermarket. But have you ever stopped and wondered what happens after your use these items? That Bisleri bottle you just drank from, what happens to it? This is what: It is simply thrown away into the sea or any where in the environment and left there just to sit.

Approximately 40,000 tonnes of plastic waste is generated by India daily, and it is only increasing every day! Moreover lots of our waste is ending up in rivers, lakes, oceans, roads and even in the stomachs of many animals! About 1,000,000 seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals die each year globally from ingesting plastic or by getting tangled in nylon fishing line, nets, six-pack plastic can holders, and plastic rope, according to estimates. By 2050 there will be more plastic items in our oceans, than fish. This is due to the poor waste disposable methods we are using; they may be improving, but at too slow a pace...

Recycling could be a solution, but why generate plastic waste in the first place! WHY CREATE A PROBLEM AND THEN SPEND OUR TIME, ENERGY AND BILLIONS OF DOLLARS SOLVING IT!

Let's ask our government to BAN THE USE OF ALL SINGLE USE PLASTIC.Together lets eliminate this horrific practice. Please I would urge you to sign and share this petition to create a better future; not just for us humans but also the many plants and animals we share this planet with.

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160,000 plastic bags are used globally every second! 5 trillion plastic bags are produced yearly! 1,000,000 plastic bottles are bought around the world every minute. And these plastic products are produced using petroleum, natural gas and other chemicals. Its production is toxic to the environment.

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Plastic bags kill wildlife, clog waterways and pack landfills. Discarded bags can spread malaria ifthey collect rainwater, offering mosquitos a casual breeding ground. In recent years, local and national governments have begun phasing out or banning lightweight plastic shopping bags. But alternatives are not necessarily greener: People buy more plastic trash bags when shopping bags are unavailable. And a British government study found single-use paper bags contribute more toward global warming than plastic bags.
Not so straightforward:
For some activists, the effort to reduce the use of plastic shopping bags is both urgent and too late. According to a 2008 estimate in Waste Management, people around the world discard between 500 billion and 1 trillion plastic bags a year. The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) lists single-use plastic bags as a major contributor, along with food wrappers and fishing nets, to the Great Pacific Garbage Patch - vast, shifting waves of trash that often arrive via storm drains and rivers and can entangle marine life or be ingested. According to a 2014 estimate published in PLOS ONE, more than 5 trillion pieces of plastic (not all from bags) weighing a combined 250,000 tons are floating in the world's oceans.

Yet substitutes also offer cause for concern. A comprehensive 2011 study by the British environmental agency argued that plastic bags are greener than many alternatives. A paper bag must be used four or more times "to reduce its global warming potential to below" that of conventional plastic bags. The reason is that paper production - from the felling of trees to the emissions and effluent from paper factories - is dirty. The study found "no significant reuse of paper bags," not even as trash-can liners.
Legislation:
With a referendum in November 2016, California became the first state to ban single-use plastic bags, according to the National Conference on State Legislatures, which keeps an active list of American laws. Thicker, reusable bags are still available for purchase for 10 cents. Before California, cities often organized the bans: In 2016, for example, Cambridge became the first Massachusetts city to ban plastic bags altogether and require merchants to offer paper bags for a fee of no less than 10 cents. By contrast, Missouri's legislature in 2015 forbid cities and counties in the state from enacting plastic bag bans.

The European Union passed legislation in 2015 aiming to cut plastic bag use in half by 2019 and half again by 2025. E.U.-member France went further, banning single-use plastic bags on July 1, 2016, and phasing in other, more restrictive bans in the upcoming years - including the prohibition of plastic cooking utensils by 2020.

Do these bans work? They do appear to reduce the number of shopping bags used, but the effect on demand for (potentially pernicious) alternatives is unknown.

Five years after Ireland instituted a 15 Euro cent levy on plastic bags in 2002 - Irish stores had been giving out 1.2 billion each year for free - a paper published in Environmental and Resource Economics suggested a 90 percent reduction in use.

One year after its ban San Jose reported "a reduction in bag litter of approximately 89 percent in the storm drain system, 60 percent in the creeks and rivers, and 59 percent in city streets and neighborhoods."

Researchers at Cardiff University, in the United Kingdom, found that a fee for plastic bags introduced in October 2015 has led to a sharp decline in the number of shoppers who take single-use bags at checkout, from 25 percent to 7 percent after one year.

China, which banned many types of plastic bags in 2008, claims some successes. But some reports suggest the rule has been difficult to enforce.

Academics have measured consumer behavior and public opinion on plastic bags in many countries, including Turkey, Uganda and Canada. A 2016 study in Social Marketing Quarterly examines how shoppers respond to different incentives for bringing their own shopping bags - such as avoiding a fee or paying a tax - and remarks "that a penalty framed as a tax may be more effective in motivating shoppers to bring reusable bags."
"Biodegradable" plastic bags:
In 2010, raw plastics production in the U.S. used the energy and natural gas equivalent of 172 million barrels of oil,government figures suggest. But some newer plastics are made from vegetable matter, allowing manufacturers to claim their plastics are biodegradable. In theory, that means these plastics can be used to feed bacteria that convert them into water, carbon dioxide and biological matter. But the process rarely works in a landfill - these products need to be composted with the right microbes. When they're not, they may not break down at all or can release methane, a greenhouse gas. So-called starch-polyester bags, made from a blend of vegetable matter and synthetic plastics, had the highest global warming impact in the 2011 study conducted by the British environmental agency "due to the high impacts of raw material production, transport and the generation of methane from landfill[s]."

The European Union hosts an online forum to discuss biodegradable plastic bags.

Researchers have looked into the policy challenges of biodegradable plastics, how they break down in the ocean and wider environmental impacts.
Our health:
Besides assuming a deviant place in marine ecosystems, there are concerns about the synthetic compounds in plastic that may be oozing into our food. One of the main building blocks of plastics, bisphenol A (also known as BPA), has been shown to stimulate breast cancer cells and damage the quality of rat sperm. Phthalates are another subject of disquiet.
Microbeads:
Another plastic causing concern is the microbeads found in some exfoliating facial scrubs and toothpastes, which are rinsed down drains into rivers, lakes and oceans. A 2015 study in the Marine Pollution Bulletin estimated that between 4,594 and 94,500 microplastic particles pass into the sewer during each use (between 16 and 86 metric tons annually in Britain alone). A forthcoming study in Chemosphere finds that microbeads do not accumulate in the gut when fed to goldfish, though both studies recognize their chemical effect in the food chain is unknown. In 2015, President Obama signed the Microbead-Free Waters Act to ban microbeads in hygienic products, though they continue to be used in other countries.
Arguments for plastic:
Proponents of plastic bags argue that they are hygienic and cheap and preserve foods that would otherwise spoil. A number of lobbies have worked to confound legislation that would reduce the availability of plastic bags. In California, for example, The Washington Post found that the American Progressive Bag Alliance - a Washington-based group run by a plastics lobby - spent over $3 million in the fourth quarter of 2014 to oppose California's attempts then to legislate a ban.

Plasticfilmrecycling.org (a project of the American Chemistry Council) is supported with funds from large multinationals like Dow Chemical and ExxonMobil. Some organizations - such as the Plastics Industry Association, which directs visitors to the American Progressive Bag Alliance and bagtheban.com - support recycling as a solution, rather than less plastic.

Plastic shopping bags are widely reused as trash-can liners, the British environmental agency study points out. When they are banned, the study adds, consumers purchase more plastic trash bags: "The reuse of conventional HDPE [plastic] and other lightweight carrier bags for shopping and/or as bin-liners is pivotal to their environmental performance and reuse as bin liners produces greater benefits than recycling bags."
Anti-plastic lobbying and activism:
The California plastic bag ban received support from the California Grocers Association. Grocery stores stood to benefit because the law mandated they charge 10 cents for reusable bags.
Other resources:

This 2011 E.U. study shows, among other things, that residents of eastern E.U. members and Portugal use the most plastic bags in the union.

Journalist's Resource profiled a 2016 paper on gender stereotypes and environmentally friendly behavior that found some people think recycling is feminine.

A 2015 paper in the Journal of Marketing found that people who bring reusable grocery bags on their shopping trips may purchase more junk food.

NOAA has fact sheets on microplastics in the ocean and plastic marine debris.

Keywords: Trash, pollution, waste, plastics, regulations, petrochemicals, chemical lobby
Last updated: December 13, 2016

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The good and the bad of plastic bag bans: Research review - Journalist's Resource

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Plastic bags kill wildlife, clog waterways and pack landfills. Discarded bags can spread malaria ifthey collect rainwater, offering mosquitos a casual breeding ground. In recent years, local and national governments have begun phasing out or banning lightweight plastic shopping bags. But alternatives are not necessarily greener: People buy more plastic trash bags when shopping bags are unavailable.

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It seems to be the summer of plastic bans. Starbucks, Hyatt, the city of Seattle and others have all committed to phase out plastic straws. Stafford Township in New Jersey passed a plastic bag ban just last month, joining dozens of other American cities and states imposing taxes or bans on single-use plastics.

But is this a good thing?

Not if that's all we do.

The Case for Banning Plastic

Use of single-use plastics (think wrappers, straws and bags) has skyrocketed over the last few decades. But as I explained recently, our ability to recycle these plastics at scale remains poor. Globally, 8 million metric tons of plastic trash leak into our natural spaces each year, harming wildlife, mucking up the ocean and jeopardizing people's livelihoods.

So it's understandable why bans are becoming popular. The beaches of New Jersey, for example, bring in billions of tourism dollars each year, creating jobs and funding local municipal needs. These sprawling, sandy spaces and the busy boardwalks that line them are an important part of local life. There are clear personal and economic incentives to keep these beaches clean, which make plastic bans politically palatable despite the inconvenience.

Monmouth County, New Jersey, which earned nearly $2.5 billion in tourism revenue in 2016, adopted what Clean Ocean Action called the most comprehensive plastic ban in the United States. The law was passed in May 2018, just before the start of beach season, and prohibits local businesses from distributing plastic bags, straws and Styrofoam containers. Local coverage of the ban indicates that it was well-received by residents and business owners. Monmouth Beach Mayor Sue Howard explained that, "If you live on the Shore, and you walk on the beach, and you see plastic straws and Styrofoam containers, you know what the damage is."

Where Plastic Bans Fall Short

It's encouraging that local governments are focusing on passing laws to fight plastic litter. Unfortunately, while these laws may reduce the most visible form of plastic pollution, it could be at the expense of other environmental impacts. That's because, somewhat ironically, disposable plastic bags require fewer resources (land, water, CO ₂ emissions, etc.) to produce than paper, cotton or reusable plastic bags-by a wide margin.

For example, Denmark's Ministry of Environment and Food found that you would need to reuse a paper bag at least 43 times for its per-use environmental impacts to be equal to or less than that of a typical disposable plastic bag used one time. An organic cotton bag must be reused 20,000 times to produce less of an environmental impact than a single-use plastic bag. That would be like using a cotton bag every day for nearly 55 years. (Note that these figures aggregate the bags' impact on water use, CO ₂ emissions, land use and more, but they do not include their impact on plastic pollution.)

Banning plastic straws is also increasingly popular. Starbucks recently announced that it would phase out use of plastic straws by the year 2020. Straws don't provide as much utility as bags, so for many this is an easy adjustment.

But these bans leave the impression that they solve the plastics pollution problem without much discussion of  systematic  solutions. As a society, we should think holistically about the products we use and their impacts. We can't just ban bad products-we must invest in alternatives.

How Consumers, Governments and Businesses Can Beat Plastic Pollution

That same Danish study suggests that the most eco-friendly bag option for consumers is polyester, reused at least 35 times. This keeps plastic pollution out of our natural spaces and reduces the per-use environmental impacts of the bag to the lowest-possible levels. However, it will take a lot more than reusable bags to solve the plastics pollution problem. Right now, only about 9 percent of plastics are recycled globally.

As of January 1, China refused to import most recyclable materials from the United States and other developed countries, claiming the materials exceeded acceptable contamination levels. This has backed up the flow of disposed paper and plastic, causing serious problems for local waste management companies. However, there may be an ironic upside to China's decision. For too long, the easy option of shipping excess recyclables to China has resulted in underinvestment in in optimizing plastics, maximizing their recovery and reducing waste.

Governments at the state and federal levels need to team up with private industry to address more systemic issues. We need to invest in redesigning plastics so that they can be readily broken down into their molecular units and remanufactured into new plastics of the same quality, the essence of a closed loop system. We need better recycling technology that can address the major obstacle of recycling plastics: about 25 percent of plastics collected are contaminated and therefore unusable. We need to reinvest government budgets in the infrastructure and associated policies needed for these systemic solutions. Once these technologies are deployed at a large scale, we can start recapturing the economic value of plastics, incentivizing their recovery and recycling, while minimizing plastic pollution and overconsumption of natural resources.

We need a wider array of smart public policies, a recycling infrastructure that's right-sized for the problem, better recycling technology and new business models. Banning single-use plastic bags and straws without significant further action is putting a finger on a spigot at a time when we need to suppress the tidal wave.

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Banning Straws and Bags Won't Solve our Plastic Problem

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It seems to be the summer of plastic bans. Starbucks, Hyatt, the city of Seattle and others have all committed to phase out plastic straws. Stafford Township in New Jersey passed a plastic bag ban just last month, joining dozens of other American cities and states imposing taxes or bans on single-use plastics.

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Why Single-Use Plastics Are Bad—And What You Can Do About It - Nature’s Path

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Single-use plastics are in the spotlight, as more and more people opt to reduce them. This even includes businesses like Hyatt Hotels and McDonalds in the U.K. and Ireland—as well as Starbucks, whose plan to go plastic-straw-free by 2020 will save one billion straws per year. Places around the world…

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As a modern business, it's essential you keep up with the trends and movements that are important to consumers. Now, after so many years of a throwaway, disposable culture being the norm, buyers are starting to embrace the shift towards sustainability. Take an easy step to make a difference and cut down on single-use plastic.

Ensure you're not left behind by refusing to change with the times and challenge the notion that items are things to be used and disposed of at whim. One way you can do this is by using eco friendly promotional products, such as reusable bags or sandwich wraps. These are items that eliminate the need for their single-use alternatives, and help to make choosing products that can be used time and time again the norm.

If you need any more convincing, here are three more reasons why society needs to cut down on its reliance on single-use plastic items.
Creating single-use plastic items uses up significant resources
Have you ever thought about all the precious resources and energy that goes into each individual plastic bag? Plastics are made from non-renewable resources such as crude oil, gas and coal, according to the environmental organisation Clean Up Australia, which also states that enough petroleum to power a car for 1km goes into the production of just under 9 plastic bags.

Then, take into account the energy that goes into transporting the plastic item from its factory to where it's distributed - it likely travels some distance before it's given to you at the supermarket.

That's a lot of energy and resources going into an item that tends to be discarded immediately after use.
Plastic takes a long time to break down
Single-use plastic, whether from lunch wrap or bags, takes anywhere from 20 to 1,000 years to break down. That's a lot of years spent wrecking havoc on the environment, where not only can it look unsightly, but can also harm or maim animals.

Thousands of birds and sea-dwellers are killed by rogue plastic items each year, with bags floating along waterways, finding their way into oceans and other parts of the environment where animals might mistake them for food. Because they're light and the wind catches them easily, they can be transported far and wide.

For this reason, it's essential the amount of plastic bags in circulation is reduced and cut down on single-use plastic waste.
Despite progress, Australia still uses a lot of plastic bags and other items
Billions of single-use plastic bags are used annually in Australia, and even more around the world. Most of these come from supermarkets, followed by fast food and takeaway outlets and other shops such as clothing stores.

While some of these bags are recycled, more items end up being sent to landfill, with millions also ending up polluting the land and water.

Some states have placed restrictions on the provision of plastic bags, which is one way in which their prevalence can be reduced. Other outlets now charge a small fee for the use of one of these items.

However, there's no doubt that single-use plastic bags are still ubiquitous in society. That's why you can make a difference by providing individuals with the means to opt out of using these products with a stylish and practical alternative, such as an eco friendly and reusable bag. Making a change requires leadership, perseverance and a committed and passionate attitude towards the problem, all of which are qualities that impress consumers.

There are so many reasons why reducing the amount of single-use plastic bags in circulation is a good idea, so now all it takes is more individuals, businesses and groups to act on it to make sure the idea doesn't get lost or forgotten. You can start having a positive impact today, simply cut down on single-use plastic.

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3 Reasons Why The World Needs To Cut Down On Single-Use Plastic

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As a modern business, it's essential you keep up with the trends and movements that are important to consumers. Now, after so many years of a throwaway, disposable culture being the norm, buyers are starting to embrace the shift towards sustainability. Take an easy step to make a difference and cut down on single-use plastic.

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Would Banning Plastic Bottles Help or Hurt the Planet?

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In early January 2020, China joined the growing movement of more than 120 countries pledging to ban single-use plastics. The country of 1.4 billion citizens is the No. 1 producer of plastic waste in the world. It topped 60 million tons (54.4 million metric tons) in 2010 based on a September 2018 report titled " Plastic Pollution."

But China announced it plans to outlaw the production and sale of non-degradable bags by the end of 2020 in major cities (and everywhere by 2022), as well as single-use straws by late 2020. Markets selling produce will have until 2025 to follow suit.

The push to ban plastic took center stage in 2018 with massive promotions like the award-winning # StopSucking campaign, which featured stars like NFL quarterback Tom Brady and his wife Gisele Bündchen and Hollywood actor Adrian Grenier pledging to give up single-use plastic straws. Now countries and companies are saying no to plastics by the dozens, and consumers are following along with them.

As the plastics-ban movement hits major milestones - such as China's latest announcement - we decided to define the bottles, bags and straws that are causing this global stir.

What Is Single-use Plastic?

True to its name, a single-use plastic is disposable plastic that's designed to be used once then tossed or recycled. This includes everything from plastic water drink bottles and produce bags to disposable plastic razors and plastic ribbon - really any plastic item you use then immediately discard. While these items can be recyclable, Megean Weldon of the blog and waste-prevention shop Zero Waste Nerd says that's hardly the norm.

"In reality, very few plastic items can be processed into new materials and products," she says in an email. "Unlike glass and aluminum, plastic isn't processed into the same item it was when it was collected by a recycling center. The quality of plastic is downgraded, so eventually, and inevitably, that plastic will still end up in a landfill."

Take a plastic water bottle. Most bottles say they can be recycled - and based solely on their easily recyclable polyethylene terephthalate (PET) composition, they could be. But nearly seven out of 10 bottles end up in landfills or tossed as litter. This problem increased when China decided to stop accepting and recycling plastic in 2018. For municipalities, that meant recycling became significantly pricier, according to The Atlantic, so many municipalities are now simply opting for the budget-friendly landfill over recycling.

Pair this landfill-first approach with the world's ever-growing plastic consumption - humans produce almost 20,000 plastic bottles per second, according to The Guardian and America's waste grew by 4.5 percent from 2010 to 2015 - it's no wonder the world is overflowing with plastic waste.

Plastic Could Outlive Us All

Think banning all of this plastic is overkill? There are some very solid reasons why it makes sense. First, plastic in landfills just doesn't go away. According to Weldon, a plastic bag takes 10 to 20 years to degrade, while a plastic bottle takes almost 500 years. And, even when it's "gone," its remnants remain.

"Plastic never breaks down or goes away; it only breaks into smaller and smaller pieces until they're so microscopic they can be found in our air and our drinking water," Kathryn Kellogg, author and founder of the waste-reduction website Going Zero Waste, says via email.

Some grocery stores have switched to biodegradable plastic shopping bags as a way to meet consumers in the middle, but research shows this is hardly a savvy solution. One study from researchers at the University of Plymouth in England analyzed 80 single-use plastic grocery store bags made of biodegradable plastic over the course of three years. Their goal? Determine just how "biodegradable" these bags really were. Their findings were published in the journal Environmental Science & Technology.

Soil and seawater didn't lead to bag degradation. Instead, three of the four types of biodegradable bags were still sturdy enough to hold up to 5 pounds (2.2 kilograms) of groceries (as were the non-biodegradable bags). Those exposed to sun did break down - but that's not necessarily positive either. The small particles from degradation can quickly spread through the environment - think air, ocean or the belly of hungry animals who mistake plastic fragments for food.

Can't We Just Reuse Single-use Plastic?

Another reason many countries are prohibiting single-use plastics is because they shouldn't be reused, despite our best intentions. As many municipalities forego recycling, it's tempting to take matters into your own hands by reusing (and therefore "recycling") plastic bottles and containers. Sure, this may work for bags, but experts say to take caution when it comes to plastic bottles or food containers. One study in Environmental Health Perspectives showed that all plastics used in food containers and plastic bottles could release harmful chemicals if used repeatedly. (This includes those said to be free of bisphenol A [BPA] - a controversial chemical that's been linked to hormonal disruptions.)

While researchers are still analyzing the safety of repeated plastic reuse, experts recommend glass or metal to avoid potentially harmful chemicals. And according to Weldon, it's time we adopt a reuse mindset - be it cotton produce bags, stainless steel straws or a full-on zero-waste.

"The worst thing about any single-use item is that we devalue something to the point that we intend to throw it away," she says. "The convenience culture has normalized this destructive behavior and as result, we produce millions of tons of it every single year. If we change our mindset on what we consume, we will be more aware of the single-use plastic we use and how we can avoid it."
This story is a part of Covering Climate Now's week of coverage focused on Climate Solutions, to mark the 50th anniversary of Earth Day. Covering Climate Now is a global journalism collaboration committed to strengthening coverage of the climate story.

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What Are Single-use Plastics and Should They Be Banned?

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In early January 2020, China joined the growing movement of more than 120 countries pledging to ban single-use plastics. The country of 1.4 billion citizens is the No. 1 producer of plastic waste in the world. It topped 60 million tons (54.4 million metric tons) in 2010 based on a September 2018 report titled " Plastic Pollution."