Perspective: Cut waste through collaboration, not bans

It is refreshing and exciting to see that policymakers and environmentalists are slowly moving away from single-use plastic bag bans and embracing more comprehensive policies to fight plastic waste. Bans, while well-intentioned, have proved challenging and on their own have failed to reduce the impact of plastic on the environment.

A recent study confirmed that California's ban on single-use grocery bags has resulted in more plastic bag waste accumulation in the decade since this law was implemented. In New Jersey, consumers have tripled their use of plastic bags since the state issued a ban in 2021.

This is due in part to consumers often failing to reuse the more heavy-duty, multiuse bags many stores offer in the place of single-use bags. Additionally, when single-use plastic bags were no longer available at supermarkets, many consumers who often had reused them for trash bags at home in the past were forced to purchase more trash bags, generating additional plastic waste. In places where shops replaced bags with ones that were intended to be easier to recycle, very few consumers actually recycled them.

These are signs that we are ready for a more comprehensive policy that supports the development of better plastic alternatives, easy and clear labeling guidelines for disposing items, and waste management systems that incorporate innovative processes like composting. This three-pronged approach is needed to combat the plastic waste crisis, which is growing worse by the minute, impacting human, animal and environmental health, while contributing to climate change.

Single-use plastic persists as a necessity in modern society, especially when it comes to packaging food, clothing and other items that must remain clean, safe and dry as they are transported through the supply chain. Much of this essential packaging is made from thin and flexible plastic films or bags, which are among the most difficult to recycle.

Alternatives like paper, cloth or other materials are simply not practical; for example, cloth and paper are not waterproof. These alternatives also present their own sustainability challenges: paper is made from trees; cloth bags require more resources and energy to manufacture; and these are not reused enough to make them superior to plastic. A Danish study found that a reusable plastic bag needs to be used 52 times, and a cotton one 20,000 times, before their impact is less damaging to the environment than a single-use plastic bag.

Single-use plastic alternatives that are both disposable and eco-friendly need to be part of the solution. Those policymakers that are stepping up to embrace, support and advance the adoption of alternatives by consumers, businesses and waste management streams are leading the quest to reduce plastic waste and pollution. Government investment or tax incentives are also key to successful policy implementation.

Compostable plastic, especially, is paving the way, providing a zero-waste solution that, when disposed in the right conditions, degrades into compost that can be used on agricultural fields or in gardens. In fact, a shift to compostable materials is at the heart of a proposed U.N. road map to reduce global plastic pollution, and U.S. policy must step up to reflect this. The compostable packaging industry is in its early stages and has already proven it has realistic potential to replace much traditional plastic. We are seeing more investment and innovation in more advanced compostable plastics that break down faster and are ready to play a bigger role in packaging.

As plastic alternatives grow, it is key that all packaging is required by law to be labeled in a clear way for consumers to dispose of it correctly. Compostable and other alternative plastics are nearly identical to traditional plastics, and labeling can ensure that materials are deposited in the right bins and taken to the corresponding facilities. Educating consumers in easy-to-understand disposal instructions with uniform standards will help with both recycling and composting efforts.

More cooperation between policymakers and packaging manufacturers is important for creating alternatives and the convenient conditions consumers need to dispose of them properly. For example, such a comprehensive approach can create a future where all flexible plastics are made to be compostable. These additional steps, which are a long-term investment, will streamline the disposal process even more for consumers and pay off in the long run as an effective way to reduce plastic waste and contamination.

Another critical element is ensuring that waste management systems include composting and other innovative solutions to deal with compostable materials and alternative plastics. The number of composters that accept packaging is growing, but it is still not as commonly accepted as other products like food and yard waste. This is another area where policymakers can step up, offering more government grants, programs and incentives for municipal waste management systems to increase composting services and include packaging among the accepted items. In addition, it is key that these services are accessible to all consumers; composting a shopping bag should be as simple as throwing it away in the trash.

With plastic waste set to triple by 2060, the path to protecting our oceans, lowering atmospheric temperatures and improving our well-being hinges on policymakers' ability to implement such a multipronged approach.

Daphna Nissenbaum is CEO and founder of TIPA Corp.