OPINION:
In the late 1950s, the Swedish engineer Sten Gustaf Thulin invented the plastic bag. Designed to protect the environment by phasing out paper and cloth alternatives (and saving trees), plastic accounted for 80% of Europe’s bag market within 20 years. The U.S. market followed suit in the early 1980s when Kroger and Safeway supermarkets made the switch.
Thulin’s invention was a sign of unprecedented scientific progress, helping the planet with a cleaner product while making shopping more convenient.
Fast forward to 2023: Thulin’s native Sweden has ushered in a new era of progress, affirming his legacy and the positive impact of plastic worldwide. The Swedish government recently announced plans to abolish the tax on plastic bags in November 2024.
As Romina Pourmokhtari, Sweden’s minister for climate and the environment, put it, “We are convinced that Swedes use plastic bags wisely in their daily lives and that there is no reason why they should be more expensive.”
She’s right. There is absolutely no scientific reason for environmental activists to scapegoat most plastic products as some alleged climate killer. In fact, plastics have made our world safer and healthier in ways most of us take for granted.
Real scientists favor plastic over the alternatives. According to the Danish Ministry of Environment (Denmark’s version of the Environmental Protection Agency), the production of plastic bottles yields a lower environmental impact than aluminum cans, glass containers, boxes or cartons. Danish researchers report that aluminum cans use exponentially more energy in production, while plastic bottles emit the fewest greenhouse gases — even fewer than cartons and boxes.
How about glass? It’s the same story. According to a study from Imperial College London’s Centre for Environmental Policy, the production of glass is extremely energy-intensive, making it a subpar substitute.
The study found that if all of the plastic bottles used today were made of glass, the added carbon emissions produced would equal the amount of carbon released by 22 coal-fired power plants — producing enough electricity to power one-third of the United Kingdom.
According to a study from McKinsey & Co., plastic products are better for the environment than alternatives in 13 out of 14 products tested. And don’t forget the trees: Plastic saves tens of millions of trees every year. Sten Gustaf Thulin would be proud of that.
What Thulin wouldn’t appreciate is the paper-based food packaging that lies at the heart of Europe’s waste crisis. According to a European nongovernmental coalition, paper alone generates more than 32 million tons of waste per year — more than plastic and glass combined.
Add in the new paper straws, which were recently tagged with containing a dose of dangerous “forever chemicals,” also known as PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl). Remember that when you are presented with a paper straw for your next soft drink.
Why hasn’t the U.S. academic community looked further into the counterintuitive realities of plastic use? Why has Sweden seen the light while cities like Los Angeles and San Francisco impose emotionally driven plastic bans and taxes that run counter to science?
The Biden administration has made it a mission to phase out plastic in the name of “environmental justice,” but not science itself. And any academic who seeks a federal research grant to explore the superiority of plastic is unlikely to secure funding.
Pittsburgh is the latest city to jump on the bag-ban bandwagon. New rules in Steel City require a ban or a tax on plastic bags. The new policy suggests that takeout restaurants use paper bags with plastic liners to offset food spillage, even though bags with plastic lining cannot be easily recycled, given the mixed medium.
And then there’s Massachusetts, which recently announced state agencies are banned from purchasing “single-use plastic bottles,” even though these bottles are clearly multiuse when they are recycled into a variety of other products, including new bottles.
The Swedes are shining a light at the end of our long, dark tunnel. When will America’s policymakers see it?
• Rick Berman is president of RBB Strategies.
Please read our comment policy before commenting.