Discussion Title: Disposable plastic items should be banned

1. Single-use plastic items should be banned
1.1. Con: It should not be banned but transitioned to reusable alternatives through more consumer demand for them.
1.1.1. Pro: If enough consumers demand it, markets will react and plastic packaging will be abolished voluntarily by companies using it.
1.1.2. Pro: It should be solved raising people's eco demand, supporting businesses that follow or start their own bio-ideals, which solves the problem through a capitalistic process faster than legal action by the government \(which is costly, ineffective, and inflammatory towards jobs\).
1.1.3. Pro: Those who are able and passionate enough should try to convince investors that there’s an open market for the bio friendly.
1.2. Con: It helps those with disabilities to use single-use plastic items, such as [straws](https://www.npr.org/sections/thesalt/2018/07/11/627773979/why-people-with-disabilities-want-bans-on-plastic-straws-to-be-more-flexible).
1.3. Pro: We don't need them when there are reusable and better \(like no waste\) options.
1.3.1. Con: Multi-use plastic items, like cups and utensils, are not affordable enough.
1.3.1.1. Con: Affordability is not a human right, having access to a liveable environment is. We should find ways to make it possible for those that can’t afford to get access to these multi-use plastics so this wouldn’t be an issue anymore.
1.3.1.2. Con: Economists argue that these products will become [less expensive](https://www.totalpapers.com/why-are-compostable-items-more-expensive-than-plastic/) as more people buy them.
1.3.2. Con: There's a lack of better reusable alternatives.
1.3.2.1. Pro: Like disposable plastic, reusable alternatives can also be bad for the environment.
1.3.2.1.1. Pro: Bioplastics are much more [resource intensive](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/sep/05/ditch-the-almond-milk-why-everything-you-know-about-sustainable-eating-is-probably-wrong) to make than [single use plastics.](https://stanfordmag.org/contents/paper-plastic-or-reusable)
1.3.2.1.2. Pro: Some compostable packaging is [too difficult to recycle properly](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/sep/05/ditch-the-almond-milk-why-everything-you-know-about-sustainable-eating-is-probably-wrong) and often ends up being burned or going into a landfill [like disposable plastic.](https://www.biologicaldiversity.org/programs/population_and_sustainability/sustainability/plastic_bag_facts.html)
1.3.2.1.3. Pro: The number of times to reuse plastic bags make them not as eco-friendly as disposable ones.
1.3.2.1.3.1. Pro: An organic cotton tote has to be used [149 times](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/sep/05/ditch-the-almond-milk-why-everything-you-know-about-sustainable-eating-is-probably-wrong) in order for its carbon footprint to be lower than a plastic bag.
1.3.2.1.3.2. Con: Bags-for-life just need to be used [eight times](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/sep/05/ditch-the-almond-milk-why-everything-you-know-about-sustainable-eating-is-probably-wrong) before their carbon footprint is lower than an ordinary plastic bag.
1.3.2.1.4. Pro: Less than [40% of bioplastics](https://www.theguardian.com/food/2018/sep/05/ditch-the-almond-milk-why-everything-you-know-about-sustainable-eating-is-probably-wrong) are designed to be biodegradable [similar to disposable plastics.](http://www.plasticfreechallenge.org/what-is-single-use-plastic)
1.3.2.2. Pro: This is true for some plastic items, like syringes and band-aids.
1.3.2.3. Pro: Metal reusable bottles can have health risks
1.3.2.3.1. Pro: Some bottles use aluminum, which has been [linked to diseases](https://www.elementalbottles.com/blogs/news/are-all-steel-water-bottles-created-equal-what-you-should-look-for) such as Alzheimer's.
1.3.2.3.2. Pro: Some metal bottles are [lined with plastic](https://www.elementalbottles.com/blogs/news/are-all-steel-water-bottles-created-equal-what-you-should-look-for) which can contain BPA and/or other harmful chemicals.
1.3.2.4. Pro: Other alternatives are not as durable as plastic.
1.3.2.4.1. Pro: Glass alternatives are more likely to break than plastics.
1.3.2.4.2. Pro: Paper bags are [not very durable](https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47027792), being more likely to split or tear, especially if they get wet.
1.3.2.5. Con: Packaging of medical devices can be recycled and used for other purposes.
1.3.2.5.1. Con: Doing so would be a [health hazard](https://bergmill.com/2017/06/13/top-5-health-safety-risks-faced-recycling-workers/).
1.3.2.6. Pro: Plastics are [cheap, lightweight and adaptable](http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180705-whats-the-real-price-of-getting-rid-of-plastic-packaging) in ways that many of the alternatives are not.
1.3.2.6.1. Pro: Paper bags [weight more than plastics](https://www.bbc.com/news/business-47027792) which means that their transportation requires more energy.
1.3.3. Con: People like the convenience.
1.3.3.1. Con: Its convenience doesn't justify the destruction it creates. The desire and “need” for convenient and comfortable lifestyles have led to the development of companies like Monsanto whose development of GMO crops have resulted in a more efficient and predictable crop. However, it has also damaged green spaces and water supplies around the globe.
1.3.3.2. Pro: People don't have to think about where they lost their reusable item or if it needs to be replaced if they just throw it away.
1.3.4. Pro: Glass can be [easily recycled](https://www.trendingpackaging.com/the-most-common-eco-friendly-alternatives-for-plastic-packaging/) and can be made into new bottles.
1.3.5. Pro: [Reusable shopping bags](https://www.trendingpackaging.com/the-most-common-eco-friendly-alternatives-for-plastic-packaging/) can be made out of canvas, cotton, fibre or other reusable material.
1.4. Con: Many single-use plastics can be [reused](https://www.bagtheban.com/learn-the-facts/reusing/).
1.4.1. Con: Plastic bags aren't always reused - there is still a percentage which will only be used once and thrown away.
1.4.1.1. Pro: Single use bags are not being reused in a way that reduces the supply that is being put into the world. Everybody still gets new bags every trip
1.4.2. Con: Plastic bags are only one aspect - they are much more easily reused than other items such as straws, food packaging, cutlery etc, all of which are more difficult to reuse because of hygiene issues.
1.5. Pro: The single-use plastic ban can be effectively tackled using a ['carrot & stick' approach](https://businessjargons.com/carrot-and-stick-approach-of-motivation.html) - education \(carrot\) and regulation \(stick\).
1.5.1. Con: The 'carrot and stick' method [doesn't really work](https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0015681) for trash, especially in regards to wildlife.
1.6. Pro: They're bad for the environment.
1.6.1. Con: Banning plastic items would encourage the use of single-use paper items, which are [worse](http://www.allaboutbags.ca/papervplasticstudies.html) for the environment.
1.6.1.1. Pro: [Deforestation](http://coopnews.coop/battle-of-the-bag-paper-or-plastic/#:~:text=about%20ten%20billion%20paper%20bags,can%20have%20major%20environmental%20impacts.) is a problem for paper bag production, while it isn't for plastic ones.
1.6.1.1.1. Con: Deforestation via paper is only [14%](https://paperontherocks.com/2018/11/28/environmental-impact-of-deforestation/) and of that, 0.7% is for paper bags \([10 million](https://www.futuremarketinsights.com/reports/paper-bags-market) of the [2 billion](https://www.usi.edu/recycle/paper-recycling-facts) trees in the US for paper\). That number is too small to be a significant issue.
1.6.1.1.1.1. Con: The number of trees being cut down will increase by [2.2 million](http://www.letstalkplastics.com/facts/plastic-bags-versus-paper-bags) when we switch over from plastics to paper bags.
1.6.1.1.1.1.1. Con: Even with the increase in paper bag production from the increased demand, it's still extremely insignificant in terms of deforestation, as it'll only increase it by 0.11% \([2.2 million](http://www.letstalkplastics.com/facts/plastic-bags-versus-paper-bags) divided by [2 billion](https://www.usi.edu/recycle/paper-recycling-facts)\).
1.6.1.1.1.2. Pro: [91%](http://web.archive.org/web/20180620024435/https://rainforestfoundation.org/agriculture/) of deforestation in rainforests is due to animal agriculture \(clearing land and growing food for livestock\). This is a significant issue and if people focus on meat reduction, then there would be more than enough trees to produce paper bags with.
1.6.1.1.1.2.1. Pro: "Free-range, grassfed" cattle is "responsible for [80 percent](https://foodrevolution.org/blog/the-truth-about-grassfed-beef/) of Amazonian deforestation". So if people remove beef from their diet, it'd be the largest reduction one could possibly take to avoid deforestation if one is worried, instead of going after paper bags \(although ideally everything should be, beef is #1 to prioritize\).
1.6.1.1.2. Con: Deforestation can be avoided if sourced from 100% [recycled fiber](https://www.wired.com/2016/06/banning-plastic-bags-great-world-right-not-fast/).
1.6.1.1.2.1. Pro: Paper bags are one of the easiest products to be made from recycled paper, as they don't have requirements \(newness \(like office paper\), sterility \(like food packaging\), etc.\) that other products do.
1.6.1.1.2.2. Con: Recycling is resource-intensive and depends on a continuous supply of recycled material, which can be hard to come by \(only [10-15%](http://www.forestecologynetwork.org/climate_change/plastic_or_paper.html) gets recycled\). So it's not really feasible.
1.6.1.1.2.2.1. Con: Almost [310 million tons](https://www.theworldcounts.com/stories/Paper-Waste-Facts) of paper is produced in the US each year and if [10-15%](http://www.forestecologynetwork.org/climate_change/plastic_or_paper.html) \(30 to 45 million tons\) is recycled, it should be more than enough for creating paper bags.
1.6.1.1.2.2.2. Con: Only [1-3%](http://www.forestecologynetwork.org/climate_change/plastic_or_paper.html) of plastic bags are recycled, so paper bags have a much better chance of succeeding in recycling than plastic ones do.
1.6.1.1.2.2.2.1. Pro: Proportionally, paper gets recycled more than plastic does \([21% vs 5.2%](https://www.bmt.com/what-is-the-real-cost-of-paper-vs-plastic/)\). So this will cause people to be more proactive while reducing waste, which is an advantage.
1.6.1.1.2.3. Pro: It is possible to [recycle](https://www.rajapack.co.uk/blog-uk/can-paper-bags-recycled/) the paper bags themselves and turn them into new paper bags.
1.6.1.1.2.4. Con: Even with recycling, paper bags [require more energy and generate more air/water pollution](https://www.bmt.com/what-is-the-real-cost-of-paper-vs-plastic/) than plastic bags do in production.
1.6.1.1.3. Pro: Deforestation leads to a release of [1.7 billion metric tons](https://blogs.ei.columbia.edu/2020/02/20/plastic-production-climate-change/) of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, while simultaneously removing the capacity of 6.5 million metric tons to be absorbed by the plants lost.
1.6.1.1.4. Con: If plastic made from palm oil becomes popular, due to its [ability to decompose](https://www.jircas.go.jp/en/publication/research_results/2011_14), it'll lead to [deforestation](https://www.greenbiz.com/article/palm-oil-new-plastic-big-brands-and-suppliers-under-fire-over-deforestation), but even worse \(since it causes [biodiversity loss](https://www.greenbiz.com/article/palm-oil-new-plastic-big-brands-and-suppliers-under-fire-over-deforestation)\).
1.6.1.2. Con: If there are [bans on all disposable bags](https://www.wired.com/2016/06/banning-plastic-bags-great-world-right-not-fast/), then this isn't an issue.
1.6.1.2.1. Con: A conventional plastic shopping bag \(HDPE\) is more ecological than some reusables, due to their exorbitant number of uses before getting to a lower emissions value \(in which the bag might need to be replaced before then\), like [7,100x for cotton](https://theconversation.com/heres-how-many-times-you-actually-need-to-reuse-your-shopping-bags-101097).
1.6.2. Con: -> See 1.6.1.2.1.
1.6.3. Pro: Marine animals can become affected by single-use plastics, like [sea turtles and straws](https://www.nationalgeographic.com/magazine/2018/06/plastic-planet-animals-wildlife-impact-waste-pollution/).
1.6.4. Pro: Single use plastics [contribute to greenhouse gas emissions](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/15/single-use-plastics-a-serious-climate-change-hazard-study-warns) at every state of its life-cycle.
1.6.5. Pro: Single-use plastics take [hundreds of years](https://www.buildingcentre.co.uk/news/5-alternatives-to-single-use-plastics) to decompose
1.7. Pro: Single-use plastics are unpopular.
1.7.1. Pro: More than [400 states and cities](https://www.vox.com/the-highlight/2019/8/20/20806651/plastic-bag-ban-straw-ban-tax) in the US have either banned plastic bags or placed a tax on the buying of them.
1.7.2. Pro: [Countries](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/canada-single-use-plastic-ban-coming-as-early-as-2021-prime-minister-justin-trudeau-announced-monday/) don't want single-use plastic anymore.
1.7.2.1. Pro: Ireland has planned to make single use plastics - such as straws, cotton buds, and cutlery, [illegal by 2021.](https://extra.ie/2019/05/22/news/irish-news/ireland-finally-takes-the-decision-to-ban-plastic-straws-and-nine-other-single-use-items)
1.7.2.2. Pro: Canada is set to [ban single use plastics](https://www.bbc.com/news/world-us-canada-48477087) by 2021.
1.7.2.3. Pro: Countries that normally take in our plastic waste, like [China](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-gNZtI7hbvI), are now running out of room and getting environmental violations for taking in plastic from other countries. They don't want it anymore, so now they're trying to place the burden onto secondary countries to receive it from developing countries.
1.7.2.3.1. Pro: Even secondary countries, like [Malaysia](https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/ondemand/video/2058526/), do not want the waste, so banning is a way to take responsibility for placing a burden on others for their issues and hopefully relieve it.
1.7.3. Pro: Banning will prevent the plastic-loathing masses from receiving it when they don't want them.
1.8. Pro: It's bad for people's health.
1.8.1. Pro: Microplastics have been found in the water of [90+%](https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2018/mar/15/microplastics-found-in-more-than-90-of-bottled-water-study-says) of all brands using plastic water bottles.
1.8.2. Pro: Plastics from packaging leach [toxins](https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/plastic-toxins-are-leaching-into-your-food-and-water/) into food.
1.9. Con: -> See 1.3.3.
1.10. Con: It will harm the [economy](http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180705-whats-the-real-price-of-getting-rid-of-plastic-packaging).
1.10.1. Con: There won't be less packaging, just different packaging, thus the jobs lost in one industry will be gained in others.
1.10.2. Con: The same could be said for those involved in cigarette and arms production... so should we just keep killing marine life with plastic in the same way and do nothing. Life evolves. So do labour markets, careers and employment options. The green economy will generate over $12 trillion in investment opportunties and 380 million jobs by 2030? The job are in replacing plastic - working smart!
1.10.3. Pro: There are [many workers](https://www.bls.gov/IAG/TGS/iag326.htm) that could lose their jobs from bans.
1.10.4. Pro: Banning single-use plastics will impact businesses.
1.10.4.1. Pro: Reducing the use of single-use plastics can [increase costs](http://www.bbc.com/capital/story/20180705-whats-the-real-price-of-getting-rid-of-plastic-packaging) for businesses.
1.10.4.2. Con: Banning single-use plastics would put pressure on businesses to find and/or create alternatives. This would help in the long run because less plastic pollution alleviates environmental damage and climate change among other things.
1.11. Con: -> See 1.3.2.
1.12. Con: -> See 1.3.1.