All of Long Island should ban plastic grocery bags

We have applauded loudly the several Long Island towns and villages that have considered and approved bans on single-use plastic bags. But we also have lamented this piecemeal approach to solving a widespread environmental problem. Bans on plastic bags would be more effective if done on a regional basis.

Now Suffolk lawmakers are considering legislation to do just that for all county retail stores, and they should approve the bill. And Nassau County should follow suit. It’s time to get rid of this scourge.

There is ample evidence that the bags are harmful. Less than 1 percent of the 100 billion plastic bags Americans use every year are recycled. Most end up as litter or in landfills. They take centuries to decompose, and they’re an eyesore and a hazard for fish and birds. Plastic bags have killed members of at least 267 species of wildlife such as whales, seals, fish, turtles and shore birds. And they’re all over Long Island. Operation SPLASH, an organization of local volunteers, removed 10,558 plastic bags last year from South Shore waters in Nassau and western Suffolk.

Worries that a ban will deprive consumers of bags they reuse for other purposes, such as cat litter or dog poop, are groundless. There are plenty of plastic bags exempt from the ban — for such things as bread, fruits and vegetables, and the like — for that. And the 10 cents that stores can charge for paper bags is plenty to cover their expenses.

Major chains such as Trader Joe’s, Aldi and Costco don’t use plastic bags. IGA’s local supermarkets support Suffolk’s ban. Since San Francisco instituted the nation’s first plastic bag ban in 2007, more than 130 cities and counties have followed suit with bans or fees on bags.

It’s time for Long Island to bag the bags. — The editorial board