As legislators in Minnesota consider a bill to overturn a ban on restricting plastic bags, a grassroots organization is calling for a fee on single-use bags.
In an open letter to The Mankato Free Press, Jane Dow of the Mankato Area Zero Waste group argued for imposing a charge on plastic bags.
The letter pointed out the immense harm plastic bags do to the environment and said fees have worked in other states.
Twelve U.S. states have banned single-use plastic bags. However, several others, including Minnesota, have prohibited local jurisdictions from banning bags, per the National Wildlife Federation.
The letter's call for a fee is intended as a stopgap measure until the ban on restricting plastic bags is overturned.
The harmful impact of plastic waste is considerable. According to the World Wildlife Fund, 462 million tons of plastic are produced annually, most of which becomes waste. This leads to microplastics contaminating every corner of the globe.
Even the remotest regions in the world aren't free of the scourge of tiny plastic particles. It's not yet fully understood just how harmful microplastics are, but there's growing research into the health problems and damage to marine ecosystems they cause.
Imposing a fee on single-use plastic bags can work well; Washington, D.C.'s 5 cent charge resulted in an 80% reduction. However, bag fees can have unintended consequences, such as increased sales of larger plastic garbage bags.
Outright bans on single-use plastic bags return the best results. A report commissioned by Environment America, U.S. PIRG, and the Frontier Group showed how effective bans can be. It found that bans in just five states, covering only 12 million people, cut plastic bags by 6 billion in one year.
Another possibility is imposing a tax on companies responsible for plastic waste. For example, the United Kingdom introduced the plastic packaging tax in 2022. Any company that uses non-recycled materials in its packaging must pay £223.69 per ton (or $168). Spain and Italy have introduced similar measures.
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Definitely 👍 The work of local activists can make a big difference in the long run, and there are many other ways to reduce plastic waste.
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