JOANNA ALLHANDS

The case for plastic shopping bags

Joanna Allhands
opinion columnist
Too many people waste plastic bags. But they have legitimate uses.

Too many people ditch plastic grocery bags. And too many store clerks use more bags than necessary.

So, I can sort of see why Tempe wants to ban or tax the things.

But plastic bags also have a lot of legitimate uses.

We use them primarily in our bathroom trash cans. They're cheaper and thinner than regular trash bags, and they're the perfect size for our cans. I'll also be using them in our nursery to contain stinky diapers. Way better than buying those expensive diaper-pail liners.

I know lots of folks who use them to pick up dog poo. They work better than those expensive, custom-made bags you find in some parks.

What we don't use, we recycle. Our local grocery store has a bin for them. There are recycling bins all over the place. It's convenient.

Now, I know the jury's out on whether recycling bags is better than using reusable ones. You can pick and choose your facts and studies, depending on which side of the debate you fall.

Environmentalists say recycling is too costly and uses lots of energy. They emphasize how many of these things wind up in our oceans and landfills, never to break down.

Industry groups refute cost and energy impacts and question whether bans actually help change behavior. Other studies suggest that reusable bags can breed bacteria and require frequent washing to remain safe.

But that's exactly my point. It seems far too premature for cities to change wasteful behavior with a stick, particularly when there is so little agreement on a better alternative.