Seattle Bag Tax

The Plastic Bag

Life Cycle

Reduce

The principle of Reduce, Reuse and Recycle -- in that order -- is an important part of the plastic bag life cycle and promotes sustainability of the environment. As mentioned in the Herrera Report, Seattle citizens have recently shown a strong interest in accelerating recycling and waste reduction technologies.

Source reduction is a form of waste prevention in which the design, manufacture, purchase and use of materials is measured in order to minimize the amount and toxicity of waste before it is ever generated. This process involves time, hard work and is often difficult to market to consumers. However, the plastics industry has made significant progress in source reduction and the standard plastic bag now requires 70% less plastic than 20 years ago. Measuring criteria such as weight, distance to transport, and renewable energy used have allowed for more lightweight bags without any loss of quality of functionality. In addition, improvements to base and handles have made most bags strong enough to hold up to 25 to 44 lbs. of goods. Continued technology improvements and proper packing techniques will help minimize negative effects of plastic carrier bags.

The paper industry has also made progress in the last decade and can use its own waste as biomass energy for production. However, paper bags remain a major source of methanol, hydrochloric acid and ammonia emissions, accounting for roughly 7.8 million pounds or 26% of toxic releases in Washington in 2004. Seattle is the only city in the world that is considering a tax on paper bags and residents have cited concerns over the state’s lumber industry, nonexistent paper bag litter, and rainy weather which causes paper bags to easily break.

Reuse

Approximately 80% of consumers nationwide reported that they save and reuse plastic bags. Plastic bags are typically reused for pet pickup, diaper disposal, wet storage, transport, donation to hospitals and nonprofits and trash bin liners. Additional uses include usage for paint preserves, kitchen cleanup, lunch bags, dust protectors and for travel items. It is the responsibility of the consumer to reuse good bags as liners instead of tossing them in the trash.

Similarly, conservation by retailers and grocers in terms of discouraging double bagging, establishing in-store recycling stations and educating employees on recycling and packing techniques will help manage plastic bag use and prevent an excessive amount of bags ending up in landfills.

Recycle

Recycling is beneficial because it reduces the strain on non-renewable energy sources and creates a way to reuse the product as a new commodity. The American Plastics Council cites that more than 1,800 American businesses handle or reclaim post-consumer plastics. Those from the municipal solid waste stream are typically collected from curbside recycling bins or drop-off sites.

Seattle Public Utilities began its curbside recycling program for paper bags in 1988 and extended it to plastic bags in 2000. The city accepts clean and dry plastic shopping bags, dry cleaning bags and newspaper bags for its curbside recycling program. However, there is currently no recycling option offered for polystyrene (Styrofoam) containers or polypropylene (A type of plastic used in producing 'reusable' bags).

The recovery of plastic recycling has been small but growing; 1.4 million tons or 3.9% of the plastics produced nationwide in 2003 were recovered. In 2005, 1.65 million tons or 5.7% of the 28.9 million tons of plastic generated were recovered. Despite the growth of plastic recycling, existing challenges include sorting costs, lacking infrastructure, technology constraints and the market which often makes it cheaper for producers to use virgin plastic over recycled plastic. However, demand for recycled plastic products is on the rise because of the many opportunities for growth in this market.

In the recycling process, bags are collected, sorted, baled and sold to Pacific Rim countries where it is manufactured into new products such as industrial trash can liners, flower pots, drain pipes and new plastic bags. Recycled bags are also used to make plastic ‘lumber’ which can be used to make decks, marinas as well as other residential and commercial properties. On the other hand, polypropylene— a type of plastic used to produce ‘reusable’ bags— do not biodegrade and is currently not accepted at King County recycling centers due to their relatively low volume.

Following the 3R’s cycle, the remaining plastic bags are sent to waste-to-energy incinerators, which harnesses energy released in combustion and converts this energy into electricity. Plastic’s petroleum composition allows it to release high energy levels of 18,500 Btu per pound when burned off as opposed to coal, which only provides 8,500-14,000 Btu per pound. In addition, polyethylene burns cleanly without fumes, mixes solid waste (to burn more efficiently) in waste-to-energy incinerators and releases only carbon dioxide and water into the atmosphere. Plastic bags are also sent to landfills where they take up one-seventh of the space of paper bags.

An emerging trend in the recycling industry is the idea of Extended Producer Responsibility (EPR). The idea is that companies that produce items such as polystyrene containers should provide a service to pick up and recycle any product it sells.