Plastic Bags BANNED in New York State

[theeedude]

Then you would have to ban ALL plastics. not just the bags. And don't say "its a start" because it's like a grain of sand in the sea of plastics dumped in the oceans.

Have you heard of the American saying "don't let perfect be the enemy of good?"

 

[JEDIYoda]

For a minute I thought the OP was Donald Trump using his alternate name on these forums...….

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

In relation to trash in general (not just recyclables) I ran into this YouTube the other day and thought it was rather informative.

Basically my takeaway from it is that in regards to reducing trash, wasteful plastic etc... is ultimately driven by capitalism:

 

[IronWing]

In relation to trash in general (not just recyclables) I ran into this YouTube the other day and thought it was rather informative.

Basically my takeaway from it is that in regards to reducing trash, wasteful plastic etc... is ultimately driven by capitalism:

Only when capitalists have the right incentives. Government regulation pushing externalities back onto capitalists (and customers) creates those incentives. The Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act created those incentives.

 

[s0me0nesmind1]

Only when capitalists have the right incentives. Government regulation pushing externalities back onto capitalists (and customers) creates those incentives. The Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Safe Drinking Water Act, Resource Conservation and Recovery Act, Toxic Substances Control Act, Federal Insecticide, Fungicide, and Rodenticide Act, and Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act created those incentives.

How did those acts incentivize water bottle companies to move from glass to full plastic to what we have today?

I understand those acts have an effect from a regulatory perspective of proper disposal, but how do they play a part in consumer packaging of products and such?

 

[IronWing]

How did those acts incentivize water bottle companies to move from glass to full plastic to what we have today?

I understand those acts have an effect from a regulatory perspective of proper disposal, but how do they play a part in consumer packaging of products and such?

For your first question, they didn't. The bottled water market at the time of passage of these laws was very small (Perrier and other boutique brands). Regulation needs to catch up with the times to incentivize the reduction of this waste stream. Moving from returnable/reusable bottles for milk, beer, and pop, on the surface, seems to have been a step in the wrong direction. We would have to look at the entire life cycle of reusable glass vs recyclable plastic to see if what appears obvious is, in fact, wrong.

On your second question, these acts pushed up the costs of products and production methods that produced more hazardous wastes, leading to substitution of less toxic products or processes. In responding to your questions I realized that I wasn't clear in my intent in listing these acts (my bad). My point was that good regulatory frameworks can provide incentives for capitalists/consumers to pursue less wasteful products and packaging. Requiring that stores charge a per bag fee is one type of incentive. Landfill design regulations designed to protect groundwater quality led to higher landfill fees, pushing people to both reduce waste generation and to recycle more.

Looking at packaging in general, we've seen a move toward more complex packaging that is difficult or impossible to recycle economically. Recyclable plastic bottles with non-recyclable caps and cap rings are one example. Juice containers with paper, plastic, and foil layers are another.

Proper incentives for waste reduction are difficult to design. If the incentives are applied at the disposal end, there is a balancing act between encouraging waste reduction and creating incentives for illegal dumping. IMHO, point of sale incentives are pretty decent as the incentives are revealed to the consumer as opposed to being buried in the price.

 

[LTC8K6]

Paper bags are tearable. They're also terrible. Except for one I got from Safeway once. It was tough, with handles.

NY is also apparently allowing the taxing of the paper bags...

https://hotair.com/archives/2019/04/03/banning-plastic-bags-nyc-will-now-tax-paper-bags/

 

[Jaskalas]

If I was running a Corporation, I will damn well try to produce the best products and/or services possible. Not to mention keeping said Business alive as long as I'm running it.
I do believe that Corporations should be more focused on keeping the folks that actually buy their products happy instead of maximizing "shareholder value".

You would violate the law?

https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/16/what-are-corporations-obligations-to-shareholders/a-duty-to-shareholder-value

Despite contrary claims by some academics and Occupy Wall Street-type partisans, this remains the law today. A 2010 decision, for example, eBay Domestic Holdings Inc. v. Newmark, held that corporate directors are bound by "fiduciary duties and standards" which include "acting to promote the value of the corporation for the benefit of its stockholders." ​

 

[whm1974]

You would violate the law?

https://www.nytimes.com/roomfordebate/2015/04/16/what-are-corporations-obligations-to-shareholders/a-duty-to-shareholder-value

Despite contrary claims by some academics and Occupy Wall Street-type partisans, this remains the law today. A 2010 decision, for example, eBay Domestic Holdings Inc. v. Newmark, held that corporate directors are bound by "fiduciary duties and standards" which include "acting to promote the value of the corporation for the benefit of its stockholders." ​

Wouldn't keeping the people who buy the products and keep the company in business happy be promoting stockholder's value?

 

[pmv]

Wouldn't keeping the people who buy the products and keep the company in business happy be promoting stockholder's value?

It's a question of time-scale, I would have said - short-term vs long-term. Which do stockholders think about? [maybe that depends on the specific national culture and era?]

Furthermore, there's a difference between the interests of 'the people who buy the products' and the interests of the population in general.