[chimeracoder]

That "study" was commissioned by a trade group whose sole purpose is to lobby against plastic bag bans, and whose members consist of entities who have a direct profit motive in disposable plastic bag sales.

This is, almost literally, equivalent to citing a press release by Big Oil as evidence against anthropogenic climate change.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/American_Recyclable_Plastic_Ba...

[gruez]

That's reason to be suspicious, but not a reason to dismiss it outright. Trials for covid vaccines were done by the manufacturers, who certainly have a profit motive in claiming they're safe and effective. Do you dismiss those trials for similar reasons?

[phatfish]

Is there an equivalent of the FDA for plastic bags?

[chimeracoder]

> Trials for covid vaccines were done by the manufacturers, who certainly have a profit motive in claiming they're safe and effective. Do you dismiss those trials for similar reasons?

One is a set of clinical trials, conducted with prepublished scientific methodology peer reviewed, independently evaluated by a regulatory agency, and subsequently independently studied by independent researchers. The other is a self-published press release.

Anyone who tries to draw an equivalence between the two either has no idea how the scientific method actually works, or is simply not arguing in good faith.