Kickstart: Data, lobbying and public policy

This has been a week of dueling studies related to plastic bag bans, giving both ban opponents and ban enthusiasts some data to back up their talking points.

On Jan. 9, a study from Freedonia Custom Research — funded by the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance — stated that since New Jersey began a plastic bag ban in May 2022, there has been a 40 percent increase in greenhouse gas emissions and a sixfold increase in polypropylene used, with that material going to durable reusable bags.

As Plastics News' Steve Toloken writes, the study said the use of traditional single-use polyethylene bags in the state dropped from 2.3 billion units before the ban, in the baseline year of 2015, to about 300 million in 2022 after the ban.

But that study was followed Jan. 18 by the report "Plastic Bag Bans Work," backed by MASSPIRG Education Fund, Environment Massachusetts Research and Policy Center, and Frontier Group, stating it found that bag bans reduced plastic bag litter by a third while encouraging the use of more sustainable options. The study analyzed information from five locations with plastic bag bans.

Obviously it's no surprise that each side could find data to support their point of view. In addition, we should expect both reports to come up in future debates about bag bans. MASSPIRG and its backers are already noting plans calling for a statewide bag ban in Massachusetts, citing successful efforts elsewhere in the United States.

With public policy discussions for 2024 underway, you should prepare for those arguments now by becoming familiar with the other side's talking points.

The auto industry has joined the lobbying campaign for a "full and immediate" resumption of research and development tax credits within the federal spending bill.

Audrey LaForest in our sister paper Automotive News writes that five trade associations — the Alliance for Automotive Innovation, American Automotive Policy Council, Autos Drive America, MEMA, and the Truck and Engine Manufacturers Association — sent a letter to U.S. Senate and House of Representatives' leadership arguing it is "critical for Congress to act as soon as possible to restore full R&D expensing, which expired in 2021."

The tax credit has been a big boost for companies investing in new equipment and technology, used by businesses ranging in size from small toolmakers to global auto suppliers.

"Quick restoration of this important tool will enhance U.S. job creation, innovation and national security," the groups said.

Even when a public policy measure passes, there's no guarantee things will actually change as expected.

A case in point right now is Oregon, where a mattress recycling mandate passed in 2022 — making Oregon the fourth state requiring a post-consumer program — but the state still hasn't reached a settlement on how to run it. The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality recently rejected a proposal from the Mattress Recycling Council to operate the program asking it to provide more details. MRC, based in Arlington, Va., was the only group that submitted a plan to run the program, our sister paper Urethanes Technology International writes.

MRC Chief Operating Officer Mike O'Donnell said the group will amend its proposal.