Quote:
Originally Posted by redpoint5
Maybe there's a case to be made for local laws requiring a certain type of bag that every business must use (equal playing field) because protection of the commons is the role of government. Profit is the role of business. If business does not attend to profit, they don't exist, we don't get our goods, and people have no jobs.
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You just described Oregon's disposable plastic bag ban. Stores must use paper bags (the timber industry likes this) and charge 5 cents each.
Disposable items are an interesting trade-off. If you care about CO2 and energy use we should use plastic bags and Styrofoam cups and take-out containers. The use much much less energy to make but they don't break down and basically pollute the environment forever.
On the other hand paper cups and bags use more energy to make but break down quickly and come from renewable resources. If you care about water and ground pollution paper is the way to go.
Of course that is a false choice. You can also just stop using one-time use products.
That makes me think of Starbucks and their straw "ban". They decide to get rid of straws and then design a new plastic sippy cup lid that uses more plastic than the straw and old lid combined. Meanwhile they have paper cups and thin plastic lids for their hot beverages. Why do they put cold drinks in a plastic cup at all? Why not use the paper (lined with thin plastic) cups for all beverages?