Many states are going plastic free in grocery stores, malls, convenience stores, and anywhere else one may shop. Recently, there has been a switch to paper bags and the more popular use of reusable bags. For the use of paper bags, there should be a small fee per bag and this money would be put into a state fund for waste reduction programs (SCMC). The Sierra Club Maine Chapter published a blog back in April of 2017 where Olin Jenner, a committee member, talks about LD57, “An Act To Phase Out the Use of Single-use Plastic Shopping Bags.” The act states that it would be effective statewide by September 1 of 2020. The production of single use plastic bags causes many issues within the environment such as pollution, being a threat to ocean life and wildlife, and is a waste of energy. “It is estimated that Americans use approximately 100 billion plastic bags a year, or about 360 bags per year for every man, woman and child in the country” (SCMC). Banning plastic will help both consumers and businesses to reduce their waste and invest in environmental safe reusable bags. Since that blog was published, Maine has placed a law on the ban of plastic. “Maine is banning single-use plastic bags in grocery check-out lines by April 22, 2020” (PBS). Maine has required stores to implement at least a five cent fee for each paper bag used.
To me, the blog is biased as it was created solely to persuade people to be on the side of removing the use of plastic bags. To me, the people on the committee just want what is best for the environment, not themselves. It may seem biased because of their hatred for the use of plastic being why they want this law to be passed so badly. These people are not receiving a profit for the ban of plastic bags and are trying to implement a law. There was evidence in the blog about how bad plastic is for the earth, trying to gain support for their cause. I used two other small articles for other facts to support the creation of the law which happened a small amount of time after the blog post. These two articles are not biased, as they are facts posted on a news site purely for informational purposes.
Since the ban on single use plastic, this has gotten consumers’ attention. How could it not? Even if consumers were not educated about this change, they surely have gotten the gist of it from workers at stores throughout the state. By banning plastic, consumers should be becoming more aware of their use of plastic. Many have invested in reusable bags as it ends up being cheaper in the long run and is overall better for the environment. Personally, the ban of plastic bags was a shock to me when I came to school in Maine as this has not yet been implemented in my home state, New Hampshire. It was a big adjustment. I had always used grocery store bags and other single use plastic bags as trash bags in my room as well in the smaller trash cans throughout my house. Now I could not do that. I occasionally use paper bags as a trash can, but have to buy trash bags for my trash can. To me, this is almost not helpful because instead of receiving free plastic bags at the store, I am buying them instead. Despite it being an adjustment for people, I do agree with the ban on plastic. Plastic is absolutely horrible for all aspects of the environment and the use of it should be cut back. I decided to invest in some reusable bags for when I go grocery shopping while I am living at school and I have found that I use them a lot more than I thought I would, and not just for groceries.
Works Cited
“Gov. Mills Signs Maine Plastic Bag Ban into Law.” WCSH, 17 June 2019, www.newscentermaine.com/article/news/gov-mills-signs-maine-plastic-bag-ban-into-law/97-927d1d19-9010-4674-8acd-1530c5368ba3.
Press, Associated. “Maine Bans Single-Use Plastic Grocery Bags by Earth Day 2020.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 17 June 2019, www.pbs.org/newshour/nation/maine-bans-single-use-plastic-grocery-bags-by-earth-day-2020.“The True Costs of Single-Use Plastic Bags.” Sierra Club, 5 Apr. 2017, www.sierraclub.org/maine/blog/2017/04/true-costs-single-use-plastic-bags.
