This November, voters in the city of Bozeman will decide whether to adopt a ban on plastic bags and straws, as well as foam containers. Supporters of the “Bozeman Plastics Initiative” collected 6,739 signatures this year to place the measure on the ballot.
The measure specifically targets five items: food containers made of polystyrene foam, packing materials made of polystyrene foam, plastic bags, plastic straws and plastic stirrers. Straws and stirrers would only be allowed at businesses in Bozeman by customer request.
If voters approve the ban, it will take effect in May of 2025, with stiff penalties of $1,000 for a first violation, and $2,000 for a second.
Just a few months ago, it wasn’t clear whether the Bozeman Plastics Initiative would even appear on the ballot. Gallatin County Elections officials and the Bozeman city attorney contended organizers did not meet the 25% signature threshold to place a measure on the ballot in a non-general election year. A lawsuit was filed leading to a settlement in August that allowed the initiative to proceed.
During the 2021 legislative session, Montana state lawmakers passed House Bill 407, commonly called the “ban on bans” bill. This legislation established uniformity for the state and prohibited local regulations, fees or bans on containers, plastics and more. In March, however, a Helena judge ruled the legislation unconstitutional, giving initiative supporters the green light to collect signatures.
Cities, towns and some states across the country have adopted various plastic bag or container bans. California became the first state, in August of 2014, to ban plastic bags and require a charge for paper bags. Cities including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles, Seattle, San Francisco and Boulder, Colorado, have followed suit.
Nearly 20 other states have preemptions that block local plastic bag bans. The question is whether banning plastic bags and similar items is an effective way to help the environment?
The University of Georgia’s school of Forestry and Natural Resources completed a comprehensive review of California’s plastics policy, looking at plastic trash bag sales in counties with bans or fees in place, versus those without. Researchers found that small trash bag sales simply increased dramatically – by as much as 25% - in communities with a ban, indicating that consumers were not reducing their use, just getting them someplace else.
“After the regulations came into effect, consumers’ plastic bag demand switched from regulated plastic bags to unregulated bags,” researcher Yu-Kai Huang wrote.
Alternatives to plastic bags or other banned items may be even more harmful.
The United Kingdom’s Environment Agency released a report in 2011 that highlighted the carbon impact of paper, reusable plastic, and cotton bags is higher than single-use plastic bags. In fact, scientists said you’d need to reuse a cotton bag more than 130 times to have an impact on the environment.
Similarly, researchers in Demark in 2018 concluded cotton bags are far more environmentally harmful than plastic bags.
Banning plastic bags also raise sanitation concerns. Most people who carry around reusable, cloth bags do not necessarily take care to make sure the bag is clean. Some may keep the bag in their backseat or the trunk of their vehicle. Others might only wash the bag once a month. The concern about sanitation was especially high during the COVID-19 pandemic, when a number of states that had adopted plastic bag bans suspended implementation due to hygiene concerns.
Americans use plastic bags for a variety of reasons, and few use them only once, often using a grocery store bag to reline a house trash can, carry lunch to work, or pick up after a favorite pet.
Bringing down plastic consumption in the United States may be a noble goal, but government bans on plastic bags and other items are simply an ineffective fad that can actually do more harm than good.