I remember a while ago I saw a meme congratulating some San Francisco for banning plastic bags. Well, perhaps that wasnt such a good idea. according to a survey of the evidence on the economic effects of bans and taxation of plastic bags: The economic costs [of the bans] are substantial. Banning plastic bags reduces employment; provides an unfair advantage to retailers in one geographic area over another; leads to the theft of store shopping carts and shopping baskets; results in customers using more plastic produce bags (thus undercutting the effect of the ban); increases prices for consumers; decreases profit for producers; and decreases economic activity in the area. An impartial cost-benefit analysis would be unlikely to justify banning plastic bags. Importantly, there are also no environmental benefits to banning plastic bags — but there is potential harm. Compared to cloth bags, plastic bags require less energy to produce and less energy to recycle and produce less municipal waste. Plastic bags generate fewer greenhouse gas emissions and require less water to produce than paper bags. Cloth bags need to be used 104 times before there is any environmental advantage over plastic bags. But most cloth bags are used half that amount. Reusing cloth bags can also lead to cross-contamination and disease. [1] Which brings us to another study. According to the abstract of a paper titled, Grocery Bag Bans and Foodborne Illness: Recently, many jurisdictions have implemented bans or imposed taxes upon plastic grocery bags on environmental grounds. San Francisco County was the first major US jurisdiction to enact such a regulation, implementing a ban in 2007. There is evidence, however, that reusable grocery bags, a common substitute for plastic bags, contain potentially harmful bacteria. We examine emergency room admissions related to these bacteria in the wake of the San Francisco ban. We find that ER visits spiked when the ban went into effect. Relative to other counties, ER admissions increase by at least one fourth, and deaths exhibit a similar increase. [2] This is why hippies shouldnt be deciding public policy. Citations: [1] ncpa.org/pub/st340?pg=6 [2] papers.ssrn/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=2196481 - Being Classically Liberal
Posted on: Mon, 05 Jan 2015 01:30:43 +0000
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