Opinion: Memphis needs plastic-bag ban

By: Becky Beloin, owner of Boshi Botanicals

Memphis isn’t a green city, at least when it comes to sustainability. In a 2024 ranking of the most sustainable cities in the U.S., Memphis was ranked 355 out of 500. The rankings, conducted by LawnStarter, looked at policy, sustainable development, pollution, transportation and food production in the 500 biggest U.S. cities.

This ranking isn’t surprising, considering Tennessee’s poor track record on waste production. Although Americans make up just 5% of the world’s population, we generate 40% of the globe’s total waste. Tennesseans are especially wasteful, producing 37.7% more waste per person per day than the national average, according to the Tennessee Department of Environment and Conservation. Here in Memphis, we generate about 1.7 million tons of waste annually, according to the 2021 Shelby County Waste Reports.

As a city, we struggle with poverty and crime, two major challenges that often relegate sustainability to the back burner. Many Memphians are just trying to survive. Yet plastics pollution disproportionately impacts lower-income communities because they are targeted more with plastics packaging and single-use products. The 2021 UN report “Neglected: Environmental Justice Impacts of Plastic Pollution” found vulnerable communities bear the brunt of environmental degradation caused by plastics waste.

Memphis has one of the highest poverty rates among large cities, and it struggles with issues of environmental racism. Progress for the city doesn’t only come from attracting big name companies and potential new jobs, it must also include environmental justice and protecting the health of all residents.

Some local organizations such as Clean Memphis, Memphis Community Against Pollution (MCAP) and Protect Our Aquifer are leading the charge for environmental change. But we need city leadership to step up as well. One of the most impactful steps Memphis could take is banning single-use plastic bags and polystyrene (Styrofoam) takeout containers.

Plastic-bag and styrofoam bans work, according to research conducted by the Environment America Research & Policy Center. In five states and multiple cities accounting for more than 12 million people, these bans have cut single-use bag consumption by approximately 6 billion bags per year — enough bags to circle the earth 42 times. A calculator offered by the organization estimates a plastic bag ban in Memphis would eliminate more than 183 million bags from the landfill annually.

Meanwhile, polystyrene bans are also picking up steam across the country due to growing awareness of their harmful effects. Polystyrene is not biodegradable, and it is rarely recycled. When it doesn’t end up in the landfill, pollution from the product often ends up in waterways, breaking down into tiny fragments that are nearly impossible to remove.

Plastic is convenient and cheap, but its long-term costs are staggering. Scientists have found so much plastic residue in the fossil record, layers of earth dating back to 1834, that our era has been dubbed the “Plastic Age,” akin to the Bronze and Iron ages.

Plastic waste is everywhere: in our oceans, in our soil and even in our bodies. While individual responsibility is important, we need city, state and federal leaders to take decisive action to curb plastic pollution — especially as it disproportionately affects vulnerable communities.

So how about it, Memphis? Let’s ban single-use plastic bags and polystyrene containers and take plastics pollution seriously.