Communication in Public Settings

6 thoughts on “Policy Options Brief on Plastic Bag Ban in New York City”

  1. The argument for banning plastic bags is presented very clearly and in a compelling way. The issue with the use of plastic bags was explained thoroughly and I thought it was a really good idea to make sure and bring up how plastic harms humans as we inadvertently end up consuming it as well. I think we tend to be selfish, so putting it into this context as opposed to only discussing the harm that it’s causing generally to the environment helps to put it into perspective. I also liked reading about the various countries that have had successful bans. It is frankly a little embarrassing that China has banned plastic bags since 2008, and the US doesn’t take similar action (after all, we in the US always bring up China as an example of a country with enormous pollution issues).

    I know that there are plenty of people that would still resist the idea of a full ban, especially those that are even having issues with the 5 cent cost of the bags that’s being proposed currently. Would it be a good idea to design a campaign in order to educate people in the benefits of banning plastic bags? I feel that the resistance in a large part comes from ignorance and fear of change (in the form of the “fear of loss of jobs” etc.).

    Based on the information provided, I would wholeheartedly support the ban of plastic bags. The benefit to the environment and to our own well-being far outweighs the complaints of people who I’m sure will get used to the change. And with regards to the possibility of job loss due to the manufacturing of the bags, I like the idea of “shifting to manufacture reusable bags”.

  2. All,

    Your group did a great job of presenting the issue at hand: how plastic bags negatively effect our environment. As you pointed out this is clearly an issue in NYC and even though I am not surprised to read this, I can understand the challenge the group faced when presenting options. You did a wonderful job of painting the image of the harmful effects, especially by alluding to the death and starvation of animals. I would’ve liked to see how this specifically affects NYC and the surrounding areas. I think this would have fortified your argument for why we need to ban plastic bags especially in NYC.

    I think a complete plastic ban on plastic bags is going to be very hard to achieve, but I do like the fact that you alluded to California’s 10 extra cents per plastic bag law. NYC definitely has to start small (getting anything done is so challenging here). It may be helpful to look at our own nation capital’s laws. Washington D.C. has done a wonderful job in lowering the consumption of plastic bags. It has become a trend there to use recyclable bags and if one were to walk into any supermarket, almost every consumer has a recyclable bag. Simply, it has become part of the D.C. culture. Here’s a good link to the project: http://greatergreaterwashington.org/post/26743/the-data-proves-the-dc-bag-fee-is-working/.

    I do support the initiative and appreciate your findings. I hope one day NYC can be a plastic bag free city!

  3. Your group picked a pretty good issue and one that is quite apprapoe to NYC! You presented the argument well and demonstrated the harm that it causes.

    I have to agree with the other students that posted though that it would be a little difficult to make a complete ban; on anything…. A great suggestion that I actually see with Target bags is ways to use plastic bags- so that production of plastic bags will be lessened. This way even though it might not solve the problem completely the problem can be helped just a little bit.

    It is important though that if we want to save this beautiful Earth that we live on that we learn to preserve it more and take care of it!

  4. The case for the seriousness of the problem is sufficient. Very well presented and I do appreciate that there were lots of comparisons in this essay, which is the factor that convinced me that plastic bags should be banned. The main comparison that caught my attention, was that other countries were successful at banning plastic bags. I would also include it’s history, plastic was created accidentally.

    There isn’t any other option that I can think of that might solve the issue. A fun fact, is that the council tried to pass this bill but the fee was only meant to go straight to the business owners, which sucks because I feel like in order to make some sort of impact that fee should go directly to an organization that works with bettering the environment.

    The banning of plastic bag is the best solution since plastic is very harmful to the environment. There isn’t any other solution that would create such a positive impact as that as banning plastic bags.

  5. 1) Is the case for the seriousness of the problem sufficient? If not, how could it be stronger?
    Hi, I do think your group did a good job in presenting the seriousness of the issues plastic bags poses to the environmental and on health issues. You have basically touched on all the options necessary for addressing this issue. I believe your options presented me with the information needed to make a decision. You touch on the problems plastic disposal causes on pregnancy and breast milk (PCB) This indicated that the effects of plastic bags affects humans, even before they come into this world.
    2) Can you think of any options not mentioned by the author(s) that might solve the problem? What are they? I believe that business should be made to provide alternative greener solutions, such as the paper bags and provision of reusable store brand cases. This option should be explored further.
    3) Do you have all the information you need to make a decision about which option(s) to choose? What more would it be helpful to know.
    I do support the option that plastic bags should be banned, however, continuing to sell it out to the public, I believe will counteract the purpose of banning it in the first place.
    4) Which option or options seem best to you? Why?
    I do support the option that plastic bags should be banned, however, continuing to sell it out to the public, I believe will counteract the purpose of banning it in the first place. Because many people will still continue to buy it at the price, of say $.10.

  6. Atara Frank, Joy Igbinedion, Jacqueline Schlossberg

    Plastic Bag Use Response Panel :

    The group did a great job in explaining the seriousness of their problem and how exactly our environment and humans are all affected by the problem. They properly utilized statistics coupled with real life stories. I think the most potent statistic used was that the average plastic bag is used for 12 minutes, but lasts for 1000 years. I also think it was great that you mentioned about the food chain and how when sea food consume the toxins from the plastic bags it’s in essence harming humans because we eat the sea food. So in reality the harms of plastic bag use affect the whole food chain. The group could have done a better job of explaining terms like DDT, PCB, PAH and BPA. This would have strengthened their argument because some of the panel was not familiar with those terms.
    The implementation of other countries’ successes with plastic bag laws truly bolstered their argument. It was interesting to see how China, Rwanda, Southern Australia and California were able to successful ban or lower plastic bag use in the country. However, I think it is important to understand that New York culture is very different from places like China, Rwanda and Southern Australia. So while it was interesting to learn about these initiatives, it may help to look slightly closer to home- maybe at Washington, D.C.’s policies. DC has done a fantastic job of reducing plastic bags throughout the city and incorporates the use of reusable bags in everyday culture. It would also be interesting to note how exactly the ban was implemented. What specific tactics were used in all these countries that made the ban so effective? With all that being said I don’t think increasing the tax on the purchase of plastic bags would be all that effective because as you mentioned in your presentation if New Yorkers don’t care about a 5 cent tax, what amount of money would they care about?

    I agree that a full ban on plastic bags is probably the best option, but I think it would need to be more developed. Society would need to be more educated on all the risks and harms associated with plastic bag usage so that they won’t want to use one. I also think that there would need to be another alternative in addition to using a reusable bag. Maybe offer incentives for delivery to the home versus packing the bags in the store? Or create another material for bags that is cost effective and also not harmful to the environment. Maybe instead of having a complete ban, businesses should have to pay a high fee for using plastic bags, so this way the option is still there for those who don’t want to purchase a reusable bag, or if they leave it at home for instance, and businesses will use a lot less plastic bags.
    I think it would be a nice idea to have more recyclable bins but I’m not quite sure how you will implement that they are actually used. Who is checking to make sure that people are actually recycling versus throwing the bags out in the regular trash? Also, as you mentioned in your presentation, most of the plastic bags end up in the ocean from flying out of garbage trucks and people’s hands. If this is the case then adding more recyclable bins won’t really help solve the issue of the toxins getting into the water.
    The group did a clear job in presenting their three policy options: a full bag on plastic bags, increased tax on plastic bags and passing legislation to enforce a legal requirement to recycle plastic bags. The group was clearly in favor of the first option- a full bag on plastic bags. However, I would encourage that the group really reconsider policy option 2- adding a tax on plastic bags. While it was said during the presentation that 5 cents or 10 cents may not even matter, I think it may play more of a effect on people that the group is giving credit for. A full ban is VERY hard to implement especially in a city so large as New York. I think it would be okay to do this once the use of recyclable bags is implemented into the culture. However, for now it may be helpful to start with a tax and then ultimately place a ban on plastic bags perhaps in 10-15 years.

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