Plastic Bag Ban Mania Will Do More Harm than Good

This year, several states are considering statewide plastic shopping bag bans, including New York, Washington, and New Hampshire. But before imposing bans, politicians should stop and think about why consumers like plastic bags. The Competitive Enterprise Institute recently published an analysis discussing how plastic bag ordinances cause more harm than good. The piece notes that plastic bags are inexpensive and use far less resources than other types of bags, and that according to researchers at Heriot-Watt University in Scotland, if we banned all plastic packaging and replaced it with glass and metals, global energy consumption would double. The author maintains that if lawmakers are concerned about liter, they should focus on policies to promote proper waste disposal rather than ban valuable products.

Visit the Competitive Enterprise Institute’s website to read the full analysis.