So what should consumers do? Faced with conflicting and complex choices, most do what comes naturally -- they default to the status quo.
In my household, my wife likes her plastic bags and is reluctant to give them up. She packs our sons' lunches in them when they go on a school field trip. She uses them to line her trash cans. They are handy for picking up after our two dogs when she takes them for a walk. Plus she thinks she saves money (and the environment) by reusing rather than buying bags.
I politely point out that even reusing the bags won't solve the problem. Not enough of us do it, and even if we improve that, one-time reuse doesn't touch the rest of the costs associated with the bags. Reusable totes are simply the best environmental alternative, given that each heavy-duty bag can replace 1,000 plastic bags over its lifetime. Be it disposing of pet droppings or kitchen waste, it's better to buy and use alternatives than to reuse plastic bags.
My wife and millions of other Angelenos won't change their ingrained habits overnight, but we know it can happen. Not too long ago, smokers would routinely light up cigarettes in crowded restaurants or airplanes. There was a time when buckling-up car safety belts was the exception rather than the rule.
Every change, however, requires a starting point.
To that end, on Dec. 20, a coalition of retailers, environmental groups and local governments have declared "A Day Without a Bag" in Los Angeles. Next Thursday, shoppers and those of us just making our daily rounds are urged to make a gift to the environment by forsaking paper or plastic bags in favor of reusable totes. The city and county will be supplying free reusable bags at many shopping centers (see healthebay.org/nobagday for details).
A growing number of nations and municipalities are tackling the bag problem head-on. San Francisco and Paris recently enacted bans on retail use of plastic bags. Ireland has reduced its consumption of plastic bags by 90% since 2001 via a bag tax and an awareness program that encourages shoppers to bring reusable totes.
Similar programs could work in L.A., and the county Board of Supervisors is mulling a number of legislative options to curb the use of plastic grocery bags. But we should take the first step. I'll see you in the parking lot -- plastic- and paper-bag-free -- on Dec. 20.
