PPB July 2019

Brittany Glenn is a Dallas-area writer and former associate editor of PPB. Update: The BanOn Single-Use Plastic Bags It’s estimated that a single-use plastic bag has a 12-minute lifespan from the time it’s filled with groceries until it’s discarded in the trash. Shoppers use about 500 billion single-use plastic bags worldwide every year, and some of those bags take 10 to 1,000 years to decompose. Consider, instead, using a sturdy, reusable tote bag—with the store’s logo and brand message—to transport those food items. Not only is the consumer able to use it again and again, but it holds much more and is easier to carry. An educated consumer can make smarter choices, but when reusable bags are given out at related events (such as retail store openings, cooking classes, community festivals and food industry trade shows), it’s easier to get them into consumers’ hands. At press time, California and Hawaii had state bans on single-use plastic bags, and New York’s bag ban goes into effect on March 1, 2020. Cities in the following states and provinces have some type of single-use plastic bag ban or bag tax in place or being implemented soon: U.S. Alaska Colorado Connecticut Florida Illinois Maine Massachusetts Michigan Maryland New Jersey New Mexico North Carolina Ohio Oregon Pennsylvania Rhode Island South Carolina Utah Vermont Washington Wyoming Canada Alberta British Columbia Newfoundland Nova Scotia Quebec Source: Bagtheban.com | JULY 2019 | 51 GROW