Plastic Bags are Saving the Environment?

The plastic bag industry, which has been killing marine life with its products for years, is marketing itself as an endangered species in need of environmental protection.

That’s right — the plastic industry’s renamed itself the “Save the Plastic Bag” coalition. And it’s arguing that the California Environmental Quality Act — which requires environmental impact reports for projects and plans that may harm the environment — applies to plastic bag bans! The industry’s saying that cities and counties must be required to conduct time-consuming environmental impact study to see if banning plastic bags could be bad for the environment.

The biggest reason the plastic bag industry is stating that they are helping the environment is that if plastic is banned, everyone will turn to paper bags instead, further harming the environment. Because of course, banning plastic, charging for paper would never force people to change their habits and carry a few bags in their trunk.

Seriously, just go buy some Flip and Tumblebags. Sure, they are nylon instead or organic cotton/bamboo, etc. but they hold 25 pounds each and smash into a ball the size of a small fist. I take a few of these everywhere I go and use them for everything from grocery shopping to carrying my lunch to work. I am in no way hindered by the lack of plastic bags, and don't require paper either. I hate it when big business decides the best way to fix their issue is to sue instead of just accepting that maybe they are the problem instead of the solution.