By Patsy Beffa-Negrini, Originally Published in The Monadnock Shopper News, Green Monadnock column, July 2026.
It’s rare these days to find an issue that brings people from both sides of the political aisle together. But I recently discovered one. I was chatting with an acquaintance about what I’m doing in my retirement. We disagreed about my climate and clean energy activism. The conversation then shifted to my work on plastic pollution, and suddenly, we were on the same page.
Like my friend and me, people across the political spectrum feel the same way about trash: we don’t want it in our rivers, forests, or along our roads. New Hampshire is a beautiful state, and outdoor recreation contributed $3.9 billion to our economy in 20231 We treasure our mountains, lakes, and trails. We don’t want them littered with garbage; we deplore new landfills carved into pristine areas; and we aren’t thrilled about having solid waste trucked in from out of state.
Another point of agreement is the ubiquitous plastic grocery bag. After food waste and paper, plastic makes up the largest share of our trash.2 Many New Hampshire residents support plastic‑free checkouts at grocery stores, pharmacies, and big‑box retailers. Supermarkets have reasons to get on board. Giving away endless plastic bags costs them money — savings they could pass on to us, especially when food prices are already straining family budgets. Towns and cities would benefit as well. If more of us used sturdy reusable bags, municipalities could save on hauling costs and ease pressure on local taxes. And the facilities that sort our recyclables — called material recovery facilities, or MRFs — are eager to see plastic bags go. Those bags tangle in their machinery, slowing operations and driving up costs for everyone.
Doctors and health insurers are also sounding the alarm: we need less plastic in our lives. More than 16,000 chemicals are used to make plastics, and most have never been tested for long‑term health effects.3 Our children and grandchildren are especially at risk because their bodies are smaller and still developing. Plastics never go away; they keep breaking down into smaller and smaller particles, which have been found in every human organ. Researchers are concerned that this constant exposure to microplastics may be contributing to declining fertility rates.
Most of us use about one plastic bag a day, roughly 365 plastic bags a year. The fossil fuels used to make just 14 of those bags could power a car for one mile.4 Multiply this by the 400 million plastic bags used in New Hampshire each year,5 and the impact is massive— the energy equivalent of driving more than 28 million miles, or five trips to the moon and back. Truly astronomical!
Our neighbors have already taken action. Every state near New Hampshire has stopped giving away plastic bags at checkout. In Vermont, when businesses stopped offering plastic bags, their use dropped by 91%, and more than 70% of Vermonters surveyed supported the change.6 My 99‑year‑old father‑in‑law in Connecticut has no trouble remembering his reusable totes when he shops — he simply doesn’t want to pay 10¢ for a paper bag.
Some of us try to do the right thing by returning plastic film to the grocery store for recycling. It sounds good, but only about 10% of plastic bags in the U.S. are actually recycled.7 Paper bags aren’t a perfect solution either, once you factor in their environmental footprint.8 The best option is also the simplest: bring reusable bags and skip both plastic and paper whenever you can.
Plastic bags may seem small and harmless, but taken together they tell a much bigger story — about our health, our economy, and the New Hampshire we want to leave for the next generation. We can make a simple switch to reusable bags. We can talk with our friends and neighbors about why plastic‑free checkout matters. And we can urge our elected officials to move New Hampshire in the same direction as surrounding states.
If you’re ready to see less plastic and more protection for our beautiful state, please add your name to this petition: bit.ly/noPLASTICbags. Your support can help make a real difference in New Hampshire’s future.
1. wildlife.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt746/files/documents/nhfg-biennialreport.pdf
2. des.nh.gov/sites/g/files/ehbemt341/files/documents/r-wmd-25-02.pdf
3. nature.com/articles/s41586-025-09184-8
4. sprep.org/attachments/Publications/FactSheet/plasticbags.pdf
5. environmentamerica.org/center/resources/plastic-bag-bans-work/
6. uvm.edu/gund/news/vermont-plastic-bag-use-dropped-91-following-ban-researchers-find
7. epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/frequent-questions-regarding-epas-facts-and
8. nytimes.com/2025/03/24/climate/shopping-bags-paper-plastic-grocery-totes.html
Patricia Beffa-Negrini, Ph.D., is a retired Registered Dietitian/Nutritionist who lives in Nelson and serves as a board member of the Monadnock Sustainability Hub, a New Hampshire nonprofit that aims to cut emissions in our region and thus address climate pollution. She is also a member of the NH Network’s Plastics Working Group at 10towns.org. Her email is nelsoncommunitypower@gmail.com.