Beyond Bans

Single-use plastic shopping bags first became available in the U.S. in 1979. In 1982, two of the largest grocery store chains in the country, Safeway and Kroger, began offering single-use plastic bags to their customers. Plastic bags didn’t catch on everywhere at first, though. Shoppers in more suburban areas still preferred their flat-bottomed paper bags, which could easily stand up in the trunks or back seats of cars. Single-use plastic bags caught on much more quickly in urban areas, where the handles made it easy for shoppers to carry multiple bags as they walked home. Despite customer preference, retailers preferred single-use plastic bags because of the lower cost to them.

From the 80s until 2007, single-use plastic bags worked their way into the very fabric of our society: they were literally everywhere. But in March of 2007, in San Francisco, the popular question "Paper or plastic?" was answered in a way that would change history. The city banned those hard-to-recycle plastic bags in grocery stores. While the ban was debated and modified in 2012 to include charging for paper bags, San Francisco politician Ross Mirkarimi, the initial sponsor of the ban, didn't know just what a stir he was going to cause. "This has probably been one of the most interesting wildfires of common sense, and I'm delighted and proud that San Francisco was the first city in the United States to have kick-started this," Mirkarimi said at the time.

Legislative efforts to curb plastic usage and waste throughout the United States have evolved well beyond those early bag bans to the pursuit of more-involved extended producer responsibility (EPR) efforts. Take California’s SB 54, signed into law last summer, for example. Along with its stringent regulation of plastic waste, it stipulates that the plastics industry must pay $5 billion into the system over the next 10 years to support impacted communities and restore ecosystems.

Following on EPR laws passed in Maine and Oregon in 2021 and Colorado and California in 2022, more states are pursuing their own versions of EPR efforts, according to a recent rundown of US plastics legislation by the Association of Plastic Recyclers (APR). Massachusetts introduced a measure in 2022, with New Jersey, Washington, New York, and other states expected to reintroduce EPR bills in 2023. Washington, Minnesota, Illinois, Kentucky, North Carolina, Virginia, Maryland, New York, and Vermont saw legislation introduced before legislatures adjourned in 2022.

Walmart, the world’s largest retailer, announced an initiative to “re-invent the plastic bag” in 2020 as part of its zero-waste goal. Walmart stores in Vermont officially nixed single-use bags in February 2021, and Maine followed suit in July of that year. Both Maine and Vermont are among the nine U.S. states that have banned single-use plastic bags in general. Colorado will join the pack when a law banning single-use plastic bags takes effect on January of 2024. Walmart is actually ahead of the game there, confirming that it'll no longer provide shoppers with single-use bags this month.

"Beginning now, Walmart stores in Colorado will no longer provide single-use plastic or paper bags at checkout or pickup. Delivery will shift to paper bags," Lauren Willis, global communications director for Walmart in the Western U.S., said in a statement. "We are working hard to ensure a seamless and convenient shift to reusable bags for our customers and associates. Eliminating single-use bags is part of our commitment to achieve zero waste across our operations and ultimately shift gradually toward a circular economy built on advancing reuse, refill, and recycling habits." Colorado customers are encouraged to bring their own bags, but they can also purchase reusable bags starting at $0.33 each, Willis confirmed.

The totes category has long been a good seller in promotional products with large print areas and many bags made of more than a single material to provide added durability and strength. With the answer to “paper or plastic” quicky becoming “neither,” your opportunities will only increase in the category. But choosing between non-woven, canvas, cotton and even jute materials can be confusing. All have their pros and cons but, as a general rule of thumb from a life-cycle basis, the heavier, stronger bags will create the greatest impact to the environment because the heavy bags use more resources to manufacture.

Finally, if you’ve previously sourced PET (polyethylene terephthalate) bags and have for some reason chosen against them, I urge you to consider another look. PET is 100% recyclable and is the most commonly recycled plastic in the world. PET plastic is widely accepted for recycling programs (nearly 29 percent in the U.S.), because it can be easily washed and melted down for uses in lower grade products, or hydrolyzed down to monomers, which are purified and re-polymerized to make new food-grade PET. And while you might not realize it, you are likely already using PET at home — It’s frequently used for water bottles, shampoo containers, soda bottles, and plastic cups. Many fabric products also use PET in the form of polyester. As you’re sorting your recycling at home, take a look, PET is recognized by the number 1 in the center of the recycling symbol on the product.

Assuming that your application fits PET bags, wouldn’t it make a good choice for your most discerning clients looking for a recyclable message to their customers?