In November of 2007, the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection (MassDEP) and the Massachusetts Food Association (MFA) initiated a state-wide "Bring a Reusable Bag Day" where consumers and retailers alike were encouraged to consider the implications of the plastic bags they so thoughtlessly accept or give out every day.
In 2009, the MassDEP and MFA partnered to set a mutual goal of reducing by one-third the number of paper and plastic shopping bags distributed by MFA’s 500+ member grocery stores and supermarkets by the year 2013.
Government officials remain wary of implementing a tax on plastic bags so as not to detract from tax payers' pockets, especially in the midst of a recession. Avoiding the tax, however, is as easy as bringing your own bag!
Government officials remain wary of implementing a tax on plastic bags so as not to detract from tax payers' pockets, especially in the midst of a recession. Avoiding the tax, however, is as easy as bringing your own bag!
There have been many success stories supporting either a tax or a ban; these countries recognize the benefits of purging their landscapes and waters of the plastic bags that drape fences and trees, and choke the internal waterways of urban environments. These countries include:
Italy: passed law taxing plastic shopping bags in the 80's
Bangladesh: Imposed a ban on thin plastic bags after linking plastic clogging sewage systems to the floods of '98+'99
Ireland: Imposed a tax, reducing plastic bag usage by 96% in the first 3 months
Kenya: in mid-2007 banned thinner plastic bags and imposed levies on thicker ones.
Uganda: in mid-2007 banned thinner plastic bags and imposed levies on thicker ones.
China: Ban reduced plastic bag use by 60% in first 6 months
Taiwan: banned free light-weight plastic bags in March 2003
Belgium: imposed a tax on free bags in July 2007.
Switzerland: requires supermarkets to charge shoppers for bags.
UK: the town of Modbury in Devon became the first place in Britain to outlaw plastic bags in April 2007.
India: Mumbai banned plastic bags in 2000 and the Himalayan state of Himachal Pradesh made thinner bags illegal in 2003.
Boston too can see a decrease in plastic bags fluttering through streets and in clogging up our land-fills, if we encourage people to BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag).
In the time that Boston has not passed legislation to change plastic bag use, how many more million have made their ways into landfills? The U.S. EPA estimates Americans use about 380 billion plastic bags per year, while recycling just 1% of them. Boston represents 0.2% of the U.S. population; if Boston uses an average number of plastic bags, we are throwing 760 million bags away each year. There are 24 active landfills in Massachusetts, collecting a total of 2,251,402 tons annually. Throwing plastic bags "away" actually means hauling them to neighboring towns, where they can sit around for centuries.
Contact your city councilman to ask what's being done in your district.
In the time that Boston has not passed legislation to change plastic bag use, how many more million have made their ways into landfills? The U.S. EPA estimates Americans use about 380 billion plastic bags per year, while recycling just 1% of them. Boston represents 0.2% of the U.S. population; if Boston uses an average number of plastic bags, we are throwing 760 million bags away each year. There are 24 active landfills in Massachusetts, collecting a total of 2,251,402 tons annually. Throwing plastic bags "away" actually means hauling them to neighboring towns, where they can sit around for centuries.
Contact your city councilman to ask what's being done in your district.
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