Report on Issue of Single Plastic Bags Use in Austin, Texas

Single Use Plastic Issue in Austin

Every year, 400 million tons of plastic is being produced and the percentage of single-use plastic is 40 which shows that single-use plastic bags are used once only before getting recycled. Most of the single-use plastic bags will not rot because it is not biodegradable and all of the plastic bags cannot be recycled. The chemical toxins are being released by the plastic bags because it is not biodegraded and these plastic bags, after so many years, breaks down into tiny particles. The chemical toxins released by plastic bags have the potential to become a human body part and enter the bloodstream of human. In addition, the unavoidable diseases can be caused by these chemical toxins such as birth defect, infertility, and cancer (BBC, 2018).

 The alternative solution to the single-use plastic bags is canvas bags or denim bags that are reusable as well. However, the first step is to discourage the single-use plastic bags and the authorities of Austin, Texas can take different measures in this regard. For example, the authorities can utilize various tax policies to decrease single-use plastic in Austin, Texas as much as possible. The revenues that authorities will earn from such taxes can be spent on the awareness campaigns against single-use plastic and subsidies can be provided to the producer of canvas and denim bags so that they keep the prices low and people get encouraged to use those bags instead of plastic bags (Oliveira, Paes, & Roquette, 2014).

Furthermore, another alternative is global impute to control the single-use plastic bags by using globally impacted policies and those policies must be implemented strictly; the governments, businesses, and common people have recognized the issue of global impute and each and everyone is agreeing on the damage that single-use plastic bags cause in the form of diseases and pollution in the environment. People in Austin are also aware of the fact that single-use plastic bag is really harmful to their health and environment and if the authorities are still failed to control the single-use plastic bags then it is their failure. The authorities can make a commitment at the level of stakeholders by making them part of the global impute and they must be bound to show a sense of reasonability so that the single-use plastic bags could be controlled in Austin, Texas (Xanthos & Walker, 2017).

The best alternative is imposing taxes on the single-use plastic and spend those taxes to provide clear guidance to the people of Austin, Texas on the biodegradable or Oxo-fragmenting plastics by which important impacts of marine litter could be necessitated (IEEP).

Single-use plastic ordinance of Austin that is known as SUBO, regulates the reusable plastic and ban the single-use plastic bags. This is the best solution to encourage the shift of single-use plastic bags to reusable plastic bags such as canvas bags or denim bags by regulating the available bags’ supply. The requirements are there in the Austin single-use plastic bag ban that are unique by nature and very helpful for people of Austin to move along with businesses and authorities toward the sustainability effort.

In the Austin single-use plastic bag ban, no bag fee is there so it is simple and true policy; the law’s crux is dependent on the definition of alternative bags that make them reusable. According to the law, the reusable bags are allowed that are made of clothes, denim, canvas, or other fabrics that can be washed in the machine. The plastic film bags in Austin, however, must be thick by at least 4 mils to be reusable that is almost 40 percent thicker than the definition of reusable bags declared in California. The Austin business intention is to distribute as well as buy the eco-friendly bags that durable or reusable for the long period of time. Hence it seemed to be the best alternative.

 Conclusion on Issue of Single Plastic Bags Use in Austin, Texas

In a nutshell, most of the people are addicted to the convenience of single-use plastic in Austin, Texas. The chemical toxins are being released by the plastic bags because it is not biodegraded and these plastic bags, after so many years, breaks down into tiny particles. The alternative solution to the single-use plastic bags is canvas bags or denim bags that are reusable as well. Another alternative is global impute to control the single-use plastic bags by using globally impacted policies and the policies must be implemented strictly. The best alternative is imposing taxes on the single-use plastic and spend those taxes to provide clear guidance to the people of Austin.

References of Issue of Single Plastic Bags Use in Austin, Texas

BBC. (2018). BBC to ban single-use plastics by 2020 after Blue Planet II. Retrieved from http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-43051153

IEEP. (n.d.). SINGLE USE PLASTICS. Institute of European Environmental Policy. IEEP. Retrieved from https://ieep.eu/uploads/articles/attachments/97b61138-5fa9-4c86-836f-ac9881ed023f/IEEP_ACES_Product_Fiche_Single_Use_Plastics_Final_April_2017.pdf?v=63664509972

less plastic. (2018). 9 reasons to refuse single-use plastic. Retrieved from https://lessplastic.co.uk/9-reasons-refuse-single-use-plastic/

Oliveira, L. H., Paes, R., & Roquette, L. (2014). Design and analysis of Brazilian mineral bottled water value chain. Conference: Conference: EurOMA Conference, At Palermo, Italy, Volume: 21st.

Xanthos, D., & Walker, T. R. (2017). International policies to reduce plastic marine pollution from single-use plastics (plastic bags and microbeads): A review. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 118(1-2), 17-26.