Whenever changing things on a large scale, it's important to do cost/benefit analyses and watch for the consequences of changes made. Quebec and Denmark both c

Whenever changing things on a large scale, it's important to do cost/benefit analyses and watch for the consequences of changes made. Quebec and Denmark both considered banning plastic bags but decided not to after studies were conducted about the effects of plastic bag bans. It increases litter, increases energy costs, among other things. Plastic bags generally see 77% reuse, and without their ready availability people tend to use full on garbage bags which are a much heavier plastic and they end up using more as they don't want to keep it around (often dog waste) long enough to fill the bag. Given the cost of production and transport, reusable trash bags need to see somewhere between 400 and 2000 repeated uses before they start showing an energy benefit and it's hard to change peoples habits to use reusable bags. I would love to see bans on plastic straws and utensils though, as the research on the consequences of those bans and substitution of biodegradable options is much more positive.