“ There ’ s so much misinformation out there . It makes for bad policy . There ’ s no scientific data to support bag bans . It ’ s emotion ,” says Donna Dempsey , thenspokeswoman for the American Recyclable Plastic Bag Alliance . “ We advocate and educate with facts .”
And when words fail , industry groups file lawsuits . The Save the Plastic Bag Coalition sued at least ten California communities over bag bans .
Sarah Kite , Rhode Island Resource Recovery Corporation ’ s onetime director of recycling services , could sympathize with the confusion of the environmentally minded .
“ There ’ s no independent study doing a life-cycle analysis that ’ s not loaded with someone ’ s agenda ,” she says . “ Each type of bag has its issues .”
Bags that go into the landfill stay in the landfill — more or less intact . Encased in a plastic liner and deprived of air and water , a landfill ’ s contents don ’ t break down . But fewer plastic bags are better for other reasons , she says . When people dump unknotted plastic bags , they get loose and fly away . When people place plastic bags in their recycling bins , they wrap around the machinery , bringing production to a halt while workers cut them off .
“ It ’ s an operational headache on the landfill side and it ’ s an operational nightmare at the recycling center ,” Kite says .
Plastic bags are recyclable — but not enough people make the effort to drop them off at large retailers , which are required in Rhode Island to provide collection boxes . Nationally , the United States Environmental Protection Agency reported that in 2018 , only 10 percent of plastic bags and wraps were recycled .
Back at Shaw ’ s in Barrington , Cynthia Henley says she doesn ’ t hear any complaining about the bag ban when she stands in the checkout lines . But there is one downside :
“ We ’ ve lost our supply of dog poop bags ,” she says . �
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BETSEY A . PURINTON , CFP ® Managing Partner and CIO
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TRAINING A SPOTLIGHT ON LOCAL CREATORS
FirstWorks brings world-class artists to Rhode Island ’ s stages while helping our local artists reach the world — providing a platform and support for their work . With funding from Rhode Island Commerce , we provided a cohort of local creatives with coaching and tools to help them succeed in these challenging times .
Learn more in a series of video shorts at FIRST-WORKS . ORG
Erin X . Smithers
Ellen Liberman is an award-winning journalist who has commented on politics and reported on government affairs for more than two decades .
RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MARCH 2021 29