The Plastic Bag Problem

I have a perpetual stash of plastic bags in the drawer under my bed. Most of them are from my trips to CVS to buy gummy peach rings, but some are from H-mart or Stop and Shop, where my family gets groceries. I’m not proud of this collection, especially since I could just move them to the kitchen where my family typically keeps plastic bags.

Sometimes I stop and think about how many plastic bags my family has gone through since we moved to Lexington ten years ago. This morphs into thinking about how many plastic bags all the families in Massachusetts have ever used, and then how many plastic water bottles, plastic straws, and other plastic waste we’ve tossed out. Many towns in Massachusetts have already banned the use of plastic bags in some of their grocery stores, but with the increasing threat of global climate change and little action at the national level, perhaps Massachusetts needs to start pushing for a collective ban on plastic. It may sound dramatic right now, but given that more and more scientists have been warning Americans about how quickly the environment is deteriorating, dramatic might be what we need.

Plastic bags are particularly difficult to recycle because they require a completely different recycling system. Unlike with plastic cartons and plastic food containers, you can’t just put them into your home recycling bin; you have to drop them off at an appropriate collection bin located at grocery chains and home improvement stores. However, many families are either unaware of or are apathetic to this critical information, and throw plastic bags away in the trash or in their recycling bin.

This is a problem that greatly contributes to the nation’s environmental issues. Plastic bags, as well as other plastics, take up to one thousand years to decompose, releasing toxic chemicals into the atmosphere as they sit in landfills. They are also an issue for sea animals, as shown in those heartbreaking pictures and videos of animals being stuck in plastic waste. All of this is happening at an alarmingly fast rate; over 100 billion plastic items are used each year in the US alone.

It’s not like there aren’t other options that are keeping us so attached to plastic bags. Reusable bags are much more sustainable and healthier for the environment, and the good old paper bag is more recyclable and compostable than plastic. The fact of the matter is that with the exponentially increasing rate of environmental degradation around the world, banning plastic bags in Massachusetts would be a small but necessary step in making our earth a little cleaner. As one of the most progressive states in the country, it is time for Massachusetts to step up and lead the US by example through environmental consciousness and action.

by HANNAH KIM