From the Prop 67 vote in California to recent disagreements in the New York State Legislature, one question has been tearing politicians and waste industry professionals apart: What should be done with single-use plastic bags? 

Some cities and states have pushed to place fees on plastic bags — or ban them altogether —  to keep them from clogging up recycling equipment or littering waterways. Others are saying no to such regulations. Michigan recently became the seventh state to outlaw local ordinances that limit the use of plastic bags. Yet in Texas, some see efforts to ban these policies as state overreach and an affront to local control. Meanwhile, cities such as Boston have just begun looking into their own policies.

In the search for more answers and analysis around this hotly debated issue, Waste Dive decided there was only one way to investigate it further: by talking trash. In the first episode of Waste Dive's new audio series, the editorial team spoke with Jennie Romer of PlasticBagLaws.org and Phil Rozenski of Novolex and the American Progressive Bag Alliance to hear both sides of the plastic bag ban debate.

Sit back, relax and crank up the volume. This is Talkin' Trash with Waste Dive.

Additional credits:
Audio Editing: Patrick Sutton
Illustration: Kendall Davis