Bans on plastic bags and straws and expensive campaigns to recycle plastic waste are popular with voters. They give us a sense that the government is acting to protect the environment.

Our guest, John Tierney, has been a columnist for the New York Times and is a contributor to City Journal. He has been studying wastes and recycling for decades.

His conclusion? “Recycling has turned out to be ruinously expensive, while achieving little or no environmental benefit." John also tells us that “if you think the biggest problem facing the  planet is climate change, you shouldn’t be banning plastic grocery bags and causing greenhouse gas emissions to increase.” He argues that bans are distraction from far larger threats to oceans and rivers, such as street litter, dumping trash in the water, and poor waste controls in developing countries.