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That was a wrong decision: rather than imposing a small fee, they should have banned the sale of non-biodegradable bags altogether. Italy is doing so since 201
by mino 9y ago
That was a wrong decision: rather than imposing a small fee, they should have banned the sale of non-biodegradable bags altogether.
Italy is doing so since 2011, and it seems to be working just fine.
- ChrisRR 9y agoTesco used biodegradable bags but they weren't lasting long compared to the original bags. They couldn't be used for much because they started falling apart within weeks.
- PakG1 9y agoAt least they're biodegradable though? Plastic isn't really.
- qbrass 9y agoPlastic breaks down in oxygen and UV light. The problem is people keep burying them.
- always_good 9y agoWell, they break down into small pieces that everything ingests.
- sdfasdasfsf 9y agoWhat is plastic? PE, PTFE, There are microorganisms that eat certain polymers (PE), but I don't think anything will ever eat PTFE (teflon) I'd bet that switching away from teflon frying pans you'll help the environment more than getting rid of a life time of PE bags. F chemistry is super nasty
- dpark 9y agoI bet you won’t. The amount of PTFE consumed by the typical person is minuscule compared to the amount of PE they use. People buy Teflon pans maybe once every decade. They buy more PE with a single bottle of soda. For that matter, most people probably have more PTFE in their plumbing than stored in their kitchen cabinets.
- deleted 9y ago[deleted]
- xanthopan 9y ago> they started falling apart within weeks isn't that kind of the point?
- JumpCrisscross 9y ago> rather than imposing a small fee, they should have banned the sale of non-biodegradable bags altogether Fines allow businesses to judge the merits (and timeline) of shifting according to their needs. Bans force everyone to shift simultaneously. Ceteris paribus, bans promote incumbents while taxes facilitate new entrants. (TL; DR Britain versus Italy's economy.)
- londons_explore 9y agoA ban is effectively an infinite fee. A small fee seems like a good halfway point between having no fee and an infinite fee.
- JumpCrisscross 9y ago> A ban is effectively an infinite fee It’s the probability of getting caught times the cost of the punishment. That’s the other problem with a ban. “Probability of getting caught” being a cost center, authorities prefer giant fines with low enforcement costs; this results in a system favouring the politically connected.
- technofiend 9y agoI spent some time in Argentina last year and discovered the hard way that you must buy your own bags and that the only bags available where I was were canvas. Still, they were only a few pesos and proved durable. No complaints in the shift to bringing your own bag or buying one that is actually useful. The "bag for life" bags in the UK by contrast aren't that great.
- JustAnotherPat 9y agoLast time i was in Italy, I got charged for a bag, so they're still also doing that it seems.