Without this eleventh hour decision, it was expected a By-Law would be passed and, effective January1, 2013, retailer would no longer be able to provide single-use plastic bags to customers. Other than the loss of work in the plastics industry (a huge issue in itself), there was another concern - how could retailers be expected to find, purchase and implement non-plastic bags within one month?
I feared mass panic as retailers flooded suppliers with requests for paper bags or reusable bag alternatives. It could easily have meant a bag shortage as suppliers worked to meet high demands for alternative products!
But, the issue is far from over. Several years back, Toronto ordered all businesses to charge their customer five cents per plastic bag. The businesses kept the money and, in essence, it made larger retailers money by reducing their packaging costs. An additional side effect to the Toronto bag charge was that most major retailers (Metro, Shoppers, Loblaws) started charging for bags. As this bag charge went directly into the pockets of the businesses, I do not see any major business voluntarily eliminating the charge.
The issue of environmental damage also still exists. Single-use plastic bags cause a lot of pollution and do not decompose for many, many years. Plastic is a problem.
On the other hand, switching to paper bags has its own issues:
- Paper bags are more expensive for retailers to purchase. A single plastic poly bag (9 x 12) costs about 5 cents versus a single 8 x 10 paper (kraft) bag with handles at 25 cents or more. [Note these costs are based on small quantities purchased] The cost of paper bags is significantly higher.
- Paper bags use more energy to produce. Yes, studies have shown that paper bag production has its own environmental issues.
- Paper bags take up more room for storage. A box of 250 paper bags takes a minimum of 5 times as much space as a box of 500 plastic bags.
Reusable bags are another great option but only work when the customer remembers to bring them. Reusable bags are not great for POS or spur of the moment purchases. There are also e coli concerns that have arose from a lack of bag care - please wash your bags regularly!
As Toronto and other communities re-examine plastic bag use, I hope they will look at the type of plastic bags they are considering banning. Plastic bags come in many styles and thicknesses and I know many of us will reuse thicker bags for garbage bin liners, diaper buckets, school lunches, lining snow boots and more! What I suggest, is that council look at a minimum bag thickness.
We have all visited grocery stores where the bags are so thin that they break before you get to the car. It is inevitable that these bags will have at least one hole in the bottom by the time you unpack them. This type of bag is truly single-use. Let's ban those bags and go back to the thick plastic bags that can be reused instead.
