However, what you are not likely to be told by the those who want to ban these is info such as,
Because they are so lightweight, plastic bags represent a very small fraction of landfill – less than 1%.
[From Canada] In a properly engineered landfill, nothing is meant to degrade. No bag – reusable or conventional plastic shopping bag – will decompose in landfill. which actually helps the environment by not producing dangerous greenhouse gases like methane...Modern landfills are engineered to entomb waste and prevent decomposition, which creates harmful greenhouse gases like methane and carbon dioxide.
They have very high alternate use rate in Ontario of 59.1% (Ontario MOE (data).
Reusable bags or longer-life bags are not necessarily greener, unless they are reused many times and as frequently as intended. On a life cycle basis, stronger, heavier bags made to last longer, no matter what material they are made from, will have a greater environmental impact because they use more resources in their production.
Plastic shopping bags outperform paper bags environmentally – on manufacturing, on reuse, and on solid waste volume and generation. Study after study shows that conventional plastic bags are better for the environment because they have a much lower carbon footprint than paper bags. Life Cycle Assessments (LCA’s) also show that the manufacture of paper grocery bags has a heavier environmental impact than the manufacture of plastic shopping bags. According to the Scottish Government 2005 Report on Plastic Shopping Bags, the manufacture of paper bags consumes four times more water than the manufacture of plastic bags; paper generates three times more greenhouse gases; and almost three times more solid waste than plastic bags.
A scan of bans around the world shows that bans don’t work. They don’t deliver an environmental benefit, a social benefit, or a jobs benefit. Other reduction strategies are far more effective in reducing the use of conventional plastic shopping bags, particularly when they offer consumers choice and are voluntary.
A scan of bans around the world shows that bans don’t work. They don’t deliver an environmental benefit, a social benefit, or a jobs benefit. Other reduction strategies are far more effective in reducing the use of conventional plastic shopping bags, particularly when they offer consumers choice and are voluntary.
Polyethylene bags are made out of ethane, a component of natural gas. Ethane is extracted to lower the BTU value of the gas in order to meet pipeline and gas utility specifications and so that the natural gas doesn’t burn too hot when used as fuel in our homes or businesses. The ethane is converted, and its BTU value is “frozen” into a solid form (polyethylene) using a catalytic process to make a plastic shopping bag. - http://www.allaboutbags.ca/myths.html
Many of the plastic bags that are recycled in the U.S. end up as composite lumber, according to the Georgia Recycling Coalition. This is a mix of plastic bags and wood scraps, such as sawdust and old pallets. This type of lumber is long lasting, durable and a low maintenance decking and outdoor construction option.
portion of your recycled bags may end up in the nanotechnology field, according to the PBS NewsHour website. Scientists at the University of Adelaide have developed a new way to recycle those plastic bags and create carbon nanotube membranes, which may potentially be used for energy storage and biomedical innovations. This is one solution for minimizing environmental pollution by creating valuable goods. - https://education.seattlepi.com/happens-plastic-grocery-bags-recycled-4791.html
In a 2018 life-cycle assessment, Denmark’s ministry of environment and food agreed with previous similar studies, finding that classic plastic shopping bags have the least environmental impact. This assessment does not take marine litter into account—so as far as that gigantic problem is concerned, plastics are almost certainly the worst, since they don’t break down on a timescale meaningful to human or animal life.
But when taking into account other factors, like the impact of manufacturing on climate change, ozone depletion, water use, air pollution, and human toxicity, those classic, plastic shopping bags are actually the most benign of the current common options. - https://qz.com/1585027/when-it-comes-to-climate-change-cotton-totes-might-be-worse-than-plastic/