Plastic bag manufacturers are creating and supporting thousands of jobs for hardworking people who are providing for their families. The people who work for these American companies work extremely hard.

In the past few years, environmental activists have put plastic bags on their target list – unfairly using science and myths to promote an ideological agenda, without regard for thousands of American jobs and the livelihoods of so many families. There are many mistruths that need to be corrected. American-made plastic bags are mainly produced from natural gas – not oil. These plastic bags are sanitary, safe and 100% reusable and recyclable.

Yet, plastic bags have been the target of legislators in pockets across America, where politicians have been working to ban or tax them – eliminating the jobs that they support – based on data or information which is incorrect.

We don’t just want to protect the jobs of more than 30,000 Americans employed by the plastic bag manufacturing and recycling sector, but to counter a policy that is bad for both the environment and for local economies.

Plastic bags make up only a fraction of a percent of the total litter stream, so banning them won’t have an impact on litter. It is litter we should be battling. Plastic bag manufacturers in America are recycling bags, and other products like shrink films and other products.  Ironically, plastic bag litter actually increased in San Francisco in the year following its ban, according to the city’s own report.

Plastic bags leave less of a carbon footprint than paper – using less water and having drastically less transport costs. Cloth bags need to be used approximately 130 times before being a ‘greener’ option than plastic.

Some suggest using sewn Polypropylene bags, but these are generally imported from China, cannot be recycled, and are usually made from foreign oil. A number of these have been recalled due to lead content. The bags have also been proven to harbor dangerous bacteria like E. coli and coliform. Yet, some want to force unsuspecting parents to put their children’s food in these lead-filled bags.

Then there’s the economic impact of plastic bag bans, since forcing us to buy reusable bags only increases grocery costs. When people shop elsewhere to avoid bans, small businesses suffer the most.

At Atlantic Poly, over 95% of our products are made in America, contact us for information on Plastic bags.

Fox News