1. Will this ban hurt our local businesses? No
- Local grocers spend $.02 to $.05 per bag and give out 10,000+ /week. They’ll save money if customers bring their own reusable bags.
- Many local retailers have already voluntarily stopped using plastic checkout bags.
- Local retailers can advertise and collect revenue through the sale of reusable bags.
2. Won’t this ban hurt senior citizens and those who cannot afford reusable bags? No.
- Ban the Bag Acton is committed to helping anyone who needs a bag to get one by
- getting sponsored donations to provide free bags to those with limited incomes
- setting up bag collections and exchanges.
- Acton community groups are already providing reusable bags to anyone who needs them.
3. Aren’t single-use plastic bags recyclable in Acton? No.
- Plastic bags are not accepted at the transfer station or by contractors that pick up recycling roadside because they jam and damage recycler’s machinery.
- A small percentage of all bags returned to local supermarkets are actually recycled. Most end up being burned or entering landfills where they persist as fragments that never have a meaningful “end of life.”
4. Won’t requiring a switch to paper bags be worse for the environment? No
- the real goal is for all Acton residents to bring their own bags; switching to paper will be a short-term solution for retailers
- paper bags offered must contain 40% post-consumer waste; made from a renewable resource, they can be recycled easily and decompose quickly in landfills
- animals do not choke on paper bags; paper bag fragments do not contaminate the food chain
5. Many people reuse their grocery bags for pet waste pick up, lining wastebaskets or garbage cans. Won’t this encourage people to buy more plastic bags for those purposes? Not necessarily
- There will still be many “free” bags available; the bill does not limit the use of newspaper or produce bags, large bags for pet food, bulk paper products, or garden supplies for example.
- Waste for composting can still be collected in paper bags.
6. Doesn’t this ban take away consumer’s freedom of choice? Yes—in some ways.
This ban recognizes that none of us has a “right to pollute.” It would theoretically limit people’s set of choices as seatbelt laws, anti-smoking regulations, and other past safety campaigns aimed at the public good have done. In effect it asks consumers to change habits and mindsets over time.
Prepared by Carolyn Platt, Lees Stuntz, Caroline Tripp January, 2019
Resource: Plastic Bag Fact Sheets: http://www.massgreen.org/reducing-plastic-bags.html