Progressive bag alliance
Encyclopedia
The Progressive Bag Alliance (PBA) was founded in 2005 and is a group of American plastic bag
manufacturers who advocate recycling
plastic shopping bag
s as an alternative to banning the bags. In 2007 they became the Progressive Bag Affiliates of the American Chemistry Council
(ACC). Recently, a growing number of municipalities, states and countries have reviewed legislation that would ban, tax, place fees on, or mandate the recycling of plastic shopping bags as a way to reduce plastic shopping bag litter
in cities, and waterways. The PBA supports laws that promote the education of consumers to reduce, reuse, and recycle plastic bags and films.
The Progressive Bag Alliance supported the California
recycling bill, AB 2449, that was passed in 2007 and which required supermarkets, pharmacies and other major retail outlets of over 10000 square feet (929 m²) and that have over $2 million or more in annual sales to provide bins where customers can recycle their plastic grocery bags as well as report recycling rates and bag usage to capture data and measure progress. Additionally the law required that stores make reusable bags available to consumers as an alternative.
In July 2007 the PBA worked with local groups to averted a proposed ordinance to outlaw bags in Annapolis, Maryland
. After a strict ban on plastic bags was proposed for virtually all Annapolis retail outlets, the city's Mayor, Ellen Moyer, introduced a revised version of the measure that suggested further studies be conducted by an environmental review committee into using recyclable and reusable products rather than imposing a ban.
conducted a study showing that >60% of bags were reused as bin liners or other secondary purposes. When take together only 2.5% of bags that weren't reused were recycled.
Plastic bag
A plastic bag, polybag, or pouch is a type of packaging made of thin, flexible, plastic film, nonwoven fabric, or plastic textile. Plastic bags are used for containing and transporting goods such as foods, produce, powders, ice, magazines, comic books, chemicals and waste.Most plastic bags are...
manufacturers who advocate recycling
Recycling
Recycling is processing used materials into new products to prevent waste of potentially useful materials, reduce the consumption of fresh raw materials, reduce energy usage, reduce air pollution and water pollution by reducing the need for "conventional" waste disposal, and lower greenhouse...
plastic shopping bag
Plastic shopping bag
Plastic shopping bags, carrier bags or plastic grocery bags are a type of shopping bag made from various kinds of plastic, and are common worldwide. These bags are sometimes called single-use bags, referring to carrying items from a store to a home...
s as an alternative to banning the bags. In 2007 they became the Progressive Bag Affiliates of the American Chemistry Council
American Chemistry Council
The American Chemistry Council , formerly known as the Manufacturing Chemists' Association and then as the Chemical Manufacturers' Association , is an industry trade association for American chemical companies, based in Washington, D.C.-Activities:The mission of the American Chemistry Council is...
(ACC). Recently, a growing number of municipalities, states and countries have reviewed legislation that would ban, tax, place fees on, or mandate the recycling of plastic shopping bags as a way to reduce plastic shopping bag litter
Litter
Litter consists of waste products such as containers, papers, wrappers or faeces which have been disposed of without consent. Litter can also be used as a verb...
in cities, and waterways. The PBA supports laws that promote the education of consumers to reduce, reuse, and recycle plastic bags and films.
Focus
ACC’s Progressive Bag Affiliates focuses on a variety of topics to find solutions to community issues related to plastic bag use. Some current areas of focus for the PBA are:- City proposals that could impact consumer use of plastic bags
- Increasing recycling opportunities
- Litter prevention
- Increasing bag reuse
- Correcting misperceptions concerning litter and waste
Discussion of unintended consequences
The PBA highlights that laws banning plastic shopping bags limit consumer choice and points out their inverse impact on the environment by reducing the use of a bag with, putatively, greater impacts: bags made of recycled paper. In its statements and press releases, it has addressed plastic versus paper bags, focusing on paper as the only viable alternative to plastic bags, and saying paper uses more environmental resources to produce. PBA also highlights the part human behavior plays, saying "While care for the environment is critical, solutions that consider consumer lifestyle and freedom of choice are essential to encourage long-lasting behavioral change."Promoting recycling as an alternative
- California
The Progressive Bag Alliance supported the California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
recycling bill, AB 2449, that was passed in 2007 and which required supermarkets, pharmacies and other major retail outlets of over 10000 square feet (929 m²) and that have over $2 million or more in annual sales to provide bins where customers can recycle their plastic grocery bags as well as report recycling rates and bag usage to capture data and measure progress. Additionally the law required that stores make reusable bags available to consumers as an alternative.
- Annapolis, Maryland
In July 2007 the PBA worked with local groups to averted a proposed ordinance to outlaw bags in Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis, Maryland
Annapolis is the capital of the U.S. state of Maryland, as well as the county seat of Anne Arundel County. It had a population of 38,394 at the 2010 census and is situated on the Chesapeake Bay at the mouth of the Severn River, south of Baltimore and about east of Washington, D.C. Annapolis is...
. After a strict ban on plastic bags was proposed for virtually all Annapolis retail outlets, the city's Mayor, Ellen Moyer, introduced a revised version of the measure that suggested further studies be conducted by an environmental review committee into using recyclable and reusable products rather than imposing a ban.
PBA and the California Environmenal Quality Act (CEQA)
In 2007 groups from San Francisco encouraged the city of Oakland to ban the use of plastic bags and encourage the use of compostable plastic and paper as environmentally preferred product. The group Coalition to Support Plastic Bag Recycling (of which PBA is believed to be a participating member pointed out that no study was conducted showing this to be accurate. When the law passed the Ordinance, the PBA requested that the courts review this law in light of the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) that requires in-depth studies of laws that may have an environmental impact to ensure that they are in good faith. In February 2008 the courts rules that the law violated CEQA. This reversal of the ordinance stated that a proposed Oakland ban could not prove that banning plastic bags would improve environmental conditions and that studies could not rule out that switching to other alternatives wouldn't cause more harm. The city of Oakland has since elected not to conduct a study nor has any NGO provided the data requested. Without a supporting study the city of Oakland removed the ordinance on September 16, 2008.Recycling benchmarks
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) was quoted in 2001 as saying that only 1% of plastic bags were recycled. Additionally the government of AustraliaAustralia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
conducted a study showing that >60% of bags were reused as bin liners or other secondary purposes. When take together only 2.5% of bags that weren't reused were recycled.
Member companies of PBA
- Advance Polybag, Inc.
- The Dow Chemical Company
- ExxonMobil Corporation
- Hilex Poly Co., LLC.
- NOVA ChemicalsNOVA ChemicalsNOVA Chemicals Corporation is a plastics and chemical company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, with Executive Offices in the Pittsburgh suburb of Moon Township, Pennsylvania and Lambton County, Ontario. It was founded in 1954 as Alberta Gas Trunk Lines and was later renamed to NOVA Corporation...
, Inc. - Superbag Corporation
- Total Petrochemicals USATotal Petrochemicals USATotal Petrochemicals USA, Inc. is a subsidiary of Total S.A. It engages in the production and marketing of petrochemical products. Its headquarters is the Total Plaza in Downtown Houston, Texas.-History:...
, Inc. - Unistar Plastics, LLC