Single-use plastic ban: Single-use plastic items such as plastic bottles, bags, spoons and cups will be banned on October 2. If we all stopped to think about the devastation that plastic bags are causing our environment, perhaps more of us would choose reusable silicone stretch lids paper or cloth bags next time we went to the shops. Another example of a locally issued ban is Seattle where not only single-use plastic bags have been banned but also single-use compostable and biodegradable bags.

Advocates of banning plastic bags often cite impacts on marine life and mammals, but they rarely attempt to quantify that impact“ (Myers 2012). When Chicago instituted a single-use plastic bag ban without a fee, retailers offered thicker plastic bags free because they were still cheaper than paper bags.

The plastic stays in their digestive system for a longer time, due to which they stop eating food and die of starvation. In addition, they had to train employees on how to reduce the use of plastic bags, educate children in school about plastic bag use (this could include contests and other promos, and social media), and more.

The fundamental problem with plastic packaging is that it is completely dependent on synthetic materials including one well-known environmental toxin and synthetic chemical known as BPA, or bisphenol A. Used in the production of bottles and canned foods (within the lining) this compound has been associated with human health problems along with environmental risks like an accumulation of plastic soup in the oceans and soil, plus so much more.

At the annual EcoFair at the Barns this weekend I spent some time wrapping my head around StackitNOW , a coffee cup recycling program created by Ian Chandler, who has a carbon neutral paper shredding company and now picks up coffee cups on the side. The recycling system works much better if the majority of the materials been transported to the processing centre can actually be recycled.

That's why it's so important that single-use plastics are phased out or given a new life within a circular economy. Let's start with a quick reminder of what put us in this situation in the first place: single-use plastic that is meant to be used for a very short period of time — even just seconds — and then thrown away.

Adequate plastic waste collection, management, and recycling systems are needed in many parts of the world, especially in developing countries and emerging economies in Asia, to reduce and stop unmanaged or mismanaged disposal. Plastic bags are often mistaken for food by animals, birds, and marine life.