Talk:Plastic bag ban

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Wrong information on COlombia
By April 2019 the article says Colombia banned plastic bags, but the sources indicate that they are taxed. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 190.0.145.34 (talk) 16:36, 4 April 2019 (UTC)

Wrong information on Germany
There is no such thing as a "recycling tax" in Germany. Light-weight bags for fruit or vegetables are free and not restricted. Carry bags at the supermarket checkout have to be paid for since decades (plastic or paper). Plastic bags for other goods such as clothes are free. (I am German.) Any restriction will come with EU regulations such as the one by the EU parliament of 28 April 2015 http://www.europarl.europa.eu/news/de/news-room/content/20150424IPR45708/html/Parlament-geht-gegen-verschwenderischen-Verbrauch-von-Kunststofft%C3%BCten-vor (also available in Englisch) — Preceding unsigned comment added by 2001:A60:139E:9B01:20B8:3CD6:4E65:6D14 (talk) 09:42, 12 May 2015 (UTC)

I would like to include the per person usage of plastic bags in Germany as well as the fact that charging for bags is an opt-in policy that retailers can choose to ignore. April 26, 2016 http://www.dw.com/en/german-government-signs-deal-to-reduce-plastic-bag-use/a-19215270 Mizeilleavina (talk) 05:45, 5 November 2016 (UTC)Mizeilleavina

No mention of the recycling of thin plastic bags
This article currently has no mention of the recycling of thin plastic bags. Yet one of the largest uses of plastic bags in the USA is in supermarket and grocery stores, in which all or almost all of U.S. supermarkets have always provided a recycling program in which customers can easily return the plastic bags used to bring home their grocery purchases. The program seems quite effective, keeping most plastic bags within the usage system and out of the trash and standard recycling streams, off of streets, and out of waterways. Since this is the common experience in the USA, I'd be surprised if Reliable Sources for these statements would be at all difficult to find. Admittedly, this widespread supermarket recycling program is not perfect, but it could be improved by providing even a small amount of consumer education.

I don't have much time to write this up, so anyone should feel free to do so, thanks. It would be an important addition, providing some needed balance, at least for the USA. David Spector (talk) 23:54, 6 March 2015 (UTC)


 * I have added a section about different methods of plastic bag phase-out, which includes recycling. C1roh (talk) 20:16, 28 November 2017 (UTC)

Wrong information on England
The government are not collecting the proceeds from bag charges. The stores can do what they like with it (typically give to a charitable organisation after deducting administrative fees) and then they have to report to DEFRA what they did. At no point do the government have the money. 78.149.66.133 (talk) 15:31, 5 October 2015 (UTC)

External links modified
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Puerto Rico
The law banning plastic bags and charging a fee for paper bags starts islandwide the 1st of January 2017. Currently two municipalities have a plastic bag ban. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.54.221.195 (talk) 16:55, 10 May 2016 (UTC)

Additionally Puerto Rican activists have campaigned against plastic bags by sewing up reusable bags for consumers Mizeilleavina (talk) 06:02, 5 November 2016 (UTC)Mizeilleavina

Broken External Links
Hello,

Here are a few of the many references that have broken links:
 * 9. Department of Environmental Protection Florida: "Retail Bags Report – List of Retail Bag Policies"
 * 20. Tenywa, Gerald (2009-01-11). "Paper bag makers shift base as kaveera ghost hits with vengeance" New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 2012-09-29.
 * 33. Shaun Ho (3 January 2010). "Selangor implements 'No Plastic Day' every Saturday"  The Star. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
 * 35. "Retail Bags Report – List of Retail Bag Policies – Asia". Department of Environmental Protection Florida. 11 March 2011. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
 * 36. "Why plastic shopping bag bans and taxes don't work" (doc). Canadian Plastics Industry Association. Retrieved 2 July 2012.
 * 40. "Learn About Global Efforts to Reduce Waste from Disposable Products" Reuse it. Retrieved 3 July 2012.
 * 42. http://www.ina.gl/demokratihome/publikationer.aspx?docgallery=10554 404 404
 * 62. "This time, pass California ban on plastic bags: Editorial". Los Angeles Daily News. April 18, 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.

I ran a broken link checker on the page and there are a total of 72 broken reference links in the page.

Ckmarque (talk) 07:12, 4 November 2016 (UTC)

I checked some broken links and the following are also broken: C1roh (talk) 19:09, 7 November 2017 (UTC)
 * 88. "This time, pass California ban on plastic bags: Editorial". Los Angeles Daily News. April 18, 2013. Retrieved 23 April 2013.
 * 89. Verespej, Nike (16 November 2012). "Massachusetts town bans plastic bags". Waste & Recycling News. Retrieved 29 November 2012.
 * 94. "Plastic Bag Ban". American Samoa EPA. Retrieved 25 February 2014.

Neutral Language
In the Issues section's first paragraph, the sentence "Many plastic bags end up on streets and are aesthetically displeasing.[1]" is not neutral. Aesthetic judgements are subjective expressions. Ckmarque (talk) 07:12, 4 November 2016 (UTC)
 * Sorted, I hope. Jdcooper (talk) 07:02, 4 November 2016 (UTC)

The section of information about Uruguay calls their policy a "huge success" after listing statistics reported by government agencies. Whether the statistics offered indicate success or not depends on the audience, so this seems like biased language to me. It would be more neutral to state the statistic without comment on whether that makes it a success or not. Lenelson2022 (talk) 23:34, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

Netherlands Missing Source
The following facts do not have a reference: "Stores, particularly supermarkets, sell reusable plastic bags for around €.15 to €.25".

Ckmarque (talk) 07:11, 4 November 2016 (UTC)


 * Sorted. Jdcooper (talk) 07:09, 4 November 2016 (UTC)

Prose vs. stub sections
This article has many many very short sections. In the absence of more detail, would it not be more user-friendly to combine these short sections into prose. The section on Africa, for example, could be one paragraph highlighting the fact that the bans are pretty similar in various countries and also highlight the differences. Rather than saying "Country X: It's like this. Country Y: It's like this." Which is not so accessible for the reader.

Sections could always be broken out as more detailed info gets added.. Jdcooper (talk) 07:02, 4 November 2016 (UTC)

Sacramento Plastic Bag Policy
In Sacramento they are currently charging for plastic bags and paper bags. Additionally in California cities such as Davis, Chico, Truckee, Nevada City and South Lake Tahoe are charging for plastic bags and they are not mentioned in the article. Jan 1, 2016 http://www.sacbee.com/news/local/environment/article52698700.html Mizeilleavina (talk) 05:54, 5 November 2016 (UTC)Mizeilleavina

Addition about the Great Pacific garbage patch
I added a paragraph on the issue section about where the plastic bags end up in the Pacific Ocean. --Zhc070 (talk) 05:35, 16 November 2016 (UTC)

California table
I don't really know much about tables so I don't know if this would be possible, but wouldn't the info about sub-state jurisdictions in California be better in a collapsed list? At the moment that table, along with the America-wide one, take up most of the article and they are a little... overbearing. As the article states, California as a whole passed a general ban, the precise breakdown by town doesn't need to be shown with equal prominence to the situation in other countries. I feel a collapsed list option would be preferable to a new article, to keep it all in the same place for those interested. Jdcooper (talk) 02:28, 23 December 2016 (UTC)

Bias
So, no one seems to be discussing the advantages of plastic bags for people who walk to the grocery store or use public transportation, the disabled, etc. To be blunt about it, you can fit a lot more food in lightweight plastic bags than paper or those heavy-duty "reusable" ones. This lets a person of limited means buy more groceries per shopping trip, which lets them go less often, saving on transportation costs.

The reason is simple: lightweight plastic bags are lightweight. The ratio of bag-weight-to-food-weight is very low, and one can chain the handles together to carry more bags a lot easier. Other types of bags have both a higher bag-to-food weight ratio and waste a lot of "bag space" (you can't fully pack a large reusable shopping bag the way you can a lightweight bag, not without either damaging the goods you're buying or damaging the bag).

My own experience shocked me; I did not expect such a small thing to make such a difference. It especially affects those of us who are partially disabled; since I was limited in how often I could physically make the trip to the grocery store (at the time I didn't have a car, I soon purchased one), I simply ended up eating less. Joeedh (talk) 01:19, 7 April 2017 (UTC)
 * I am sure what you say is true, but this article is about the attempts of various jurisdictions to phase out plastic bags, not whether or not it's a good idea. If you can find third-party sources discussing the issues you raise, they might be relevant to the plastic shopping bag article. Thanks. Jdcooper (talk) 06:53, 7 April 2017 (UTC)
 * agreed. I have heard much discussion about the alternative to replace lightweight bags - heavier bags, many of which are still only single use.  Also the decreased incentive to ride a bike or walk as you need to take a few hundred grams of bags with you just in case you want to buy stuff will just mean people want to drive more and drive bigger vehicles. not a clear win for environment at all.  Unfortunately i do not know of a quotable source. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 115.187.162.97 (talk • contribs) 01:41, October 18, 2017 (UTC)

Statistics in the "Issues" Section
It would be incredibly beneficial to see more concrete research and peer-reviewed studies being referenced in this section of the page. Just in general, this section of the page needs more citations/research-backed statements. C1roh (talk) 19:10, 7 November 2017 (UTC)

I have added a little more information to Kenya and Portugal's particular bans/implementation. C1roh (talk) 20:16, 28 November 2017 (UTC)

The first two lines laying out the overview of the issues ("Plastic bags cause many minor and major ecological and environmental issues. The most general issue with plastic bags is the amount of waste produced. Many plastic bags end up on streets and subsequently pollute major water sources, rivers, and streams.") lack citation. There are some citations later on in this section but these two sentences are making very bold statements about what the main issues are without research to back them up. Lenelson2022 (talk) 23:04, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

No Mention of Different Methods of Phasing Out Plastic Bags
It would be really interesting to see a section here that discusses the different modes of phasing out lightweight plastic bags and then comparing which are more cost-efficient. Some countries may not have banned plastic bags but have instead, implemented various other alternatives to plastic bags such as sustainable bioplastic. In São Paulo, Brazil, stores are attempting to phase-out lightweight plastic bags by offering green/grey biodegradable plastic bags instead of the common ones usually used in stores. However, these are apparently more costly and thus, not efficient. Having one cohesive section at the end of the page of all the varying ways countries have phased-out plastic bags would be good to add. C1roh (talk) 22:08, 15 November 2017 (UTC)

Single use?
Is there a proper definition of "single use"? It seems to be used interchangeably with "lightweight" throughout the article, but it's a sloppy name. I have a personal gripe with the whole activity because in my house there is no such thing as a single use bag. Most are recycled for collecting dog poo on walks with the hound. Others are used for a diverse range of second and third purposes. It hasn't appeared in the article yet (may have to attend to that) but my part of Australia is about to ban them. It will mean I have to spend more money on heavier duty plastic bags (of unproven benefit), AND on extra plastic bags for the dog poo. This highlights that single use is a crappy term. What does it actually mean? HiLo48 (talk) 05:47, 23 June 2018 (UTC)

Study lists countries and cities that implemented policies
This 2019 study may be of interest. Snooganssnoogans (talk) 18:48, 10 May 2019 (UTC)

North Macedonia
Lightweight plastic bags are far from banned in North Macedonia, as the article presently claims. The government has introduced a ban on plastic bags with carrying capacity below 5 kilograms in January 2009. However, already in May 2009 it allowed plastic bags with carrying capacity below 5 kilograms to be used in groceries and markets for "measuring and packing of food". In 2011 biodegradable plastic bags were also allowed. The new regulative from 2013 allows usage of only biodegradable plastic bags but for "measuring and packing of food" it allows common plastic bags. Here is the regulation from 2013 but only in Macedonian. You can see from this report from 2015 (in English) that plastic bags are widely used and wasted. The situation is the same in 2019. So, for North Macedonia the remark should not be Ban but A charge on some plastic bags (Zdravko mk (talk) 08:55, 2 August 2019 (UTC))

Absolutely wrong information on France.
France has NEVER banned plastic bags ! They plan to do it by 2040 (what a joke) so this should be corrected. http://www.rfi.fr/en/france/20191210-Critics-slam-20-year-wait-French-plastics-ban and https://www.euractiv.com/section/energy-environment/news/banning-single-use-plastics-in-france-by-2040-is-far-too-late-environmentalists-say/ — Preceding unsigned comment added by Cdrk (talk • contribs) 15:24, 14 December 2019 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Introduction to Policy Analysis

 * Welcome and . Thanks for the all the constructive comments on this page, but please also feel free to make the changes to the article yourself. Anyone can edit Wikipedia, and in fact is encouraged to do so. Just change the text and leave a link to your source, someone else can always sort out the formatting. Happy editing! Jdcooper (talk) 22:13, 2 May 2022 (UTC)

EU Directive on Single-Use Plastics is outdated
This paragraph supplies outdated information regarding the former goals of the Directive on Single-Use Plastics established by the European Union, most of which are from before 2019. According to the Library of Congress, this Directive was set into motion on July 2, 2021. Their new goals are to have 77% of plastic bottles recycled by 2025, 90% of plastic bottles recycled by 2029, 25% of all PET bottles are required to be made out of recycled plastic by 2025, and 30% of bottles are required to be made out of recycled plastic by 2030. Evidence for this can be found in this article. Scookucsd222 (talk) 01:07, 26 April 2022 (UTC)

Citation needed under 'Israel' section
Upon discussing how Israel's tax revenue contributes to their public waste-management programs, the author neglects to add a citation to verify this information. After some digging, I was able to find that most of the information they referenced was from an article done by the Scientist and Action Advocacy Network. The information found here should be cited properly. Scookucsd222 (talk) 01:07, 26 April 2022 (UTC)

Underrepresented criticism may indicate bias
Though plenty of evidence points to the fact that single-use plastic should be limited and alternatives should be used, it is worth weighing the costs and benefits of those alternatives. The author only notes about 2-3 sentences suggesting the impacts of multi-use plastic bags, which use significantly more plastic. I am curious about the weight of other alternatives, such as switching to paper bags, introducing a tax on wealthy consumers vs. poorer consumers, making multi-use plastic bags out of recycled materials, etc. The author should weigh more of the costs and benefits of other options in order to curate a more holistic perspective. Scookucsd222 (talk) 01:07, 26 April 2022 (UTC)

Legislation Around the World
The section on the United States lists different states and territories that have implemented policies to phase out lightweight plastic bags, but there is no citation attached to the information about Oregon, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, American Samoa, Guam, the Virgin Islands, or the Northern Mariana Islands. There is a citation for information about Hawaii later on, but it is not cited when Hawaii is first mentioned. Lenelson2022 (talk) 23:20, 25 April 2022 (UTC)

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Table structure
Is 'UN region' really necessary information in the table? I propose to remove it. Jèrriais janne (talk) 23:17, 23 January 2023 (UTC)
 * It used to be "Continent" but then someone changed it. I'd support either reverting to that or removing the column. Del U sion23 (talk)  20:51, 25 January 2023 (UTC)
 * The column can't just be changed to "Continent" given that one of the categories is "Western Europe and Others", which includes Australia and New Zealand. I don't think the column is helpful and I would support removing it. - BobKilcoyne (talk) 01:33, 12 May 2023 (UTC)

Article title
I would like to change the article title from Plastic bag ban to Plastic bag restrictions or something similar. The opening line speaks of restrictions in their use rather than an outright ban, and there are several places where "phase-out" (former article title) and charges aimed at reducing usage are mentioned. Banning the use of plastic bags is only one aspect of the article content. @Rusf10, I believe you made the last article name change, would you be content with "Plastic bag restrictions" as a revised aticle title? - BobKilcoyne (talk) 01:28, 12 May 2023 (UTC)


 * I see the logic for the change. another possibility could be Legal status of plastic bags, which is consistent with a load of other articles about varying legal restrictions on different phenomena around the world. But I have no strong opinion. Jdcooper (talk) 11:46, 17 May 2023 (UTC)
 * I believe the policy is WP:COMMONNAME, nearly every source calls it what it is, a ban. I'm not open to changing it at this time.--Rusf10 (talk) 04:11, 22 May 2023 (UTC)
 * I agree on a change to "restrictions" or similar. Pkgx (talk) 12:32, 22 May 2023 (UTC)

The map is wrong
The map under the heading Legislation around the world shows Australia as having a complete ban. The table immediately following the map correctly says otherwise. Please fix the map. HiLo48 (talk) 03:52, 1 July 2023 (UTC)

Article seriously needs work
I just translated it into Sipmle English, and I see the following issues: Eptalon (talk) 09:09, 9 July 2023 (UTC)
 * Supermarkets / Stores will happily charge you for a bag. They have been doing this for ages.Yes, there's the cheaper single-use plastic bag, the single-use-paper bag (which likely isnt much better to the environment, and various more expensive re-usable bags (plastic, mixed-material, pant fiber).
 * The plastic bags you use for example to pack fruit/vegetable are likely the single-use thin kind, even though the material looks more sturdy.
 * I am missing a study that says: If you take a re-usable bag of type X, it gets re-used (for example) 5-10 times; to make up for production cost, it would have to be re-used (for example) 20 times.
 * I am certain that the development of polymers/plastics that decay in 3-5 years in the environment is being studied. Likely needs a mention.
 * The section 'legislation around the world' should go into an article of its own. It's likely to change more rapidly than the rest of the artricle.

Isle of Man ban - update to map requested
Hi - please could someone who knows how kindly update the map to reflect that the Isle of Man (Europe) has now fully banned plastic bags. Thank you. 213.137.8.189 (talk) 16:45, 18 October 2023 (UTC)

Plastic bag ban in Thailand
Hi there, why is the country not changed to green after the plastic bags were banned sinch 2021? Dennis the mennis (talk) 16:12, 17 June 2024 (UTC)

Wiki Education assignment: Introduction to Policy Analysis - Summer Session24
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