Plastic-bag ban has some ’splainin’ to do

Never let it be said that Oahu’s plastic bag ban wasn’t imposed with the best of intentions. And a year after it went into effect, it does seem to have succeeded in reducing the amount of plastic bags cluttering the enviornment as litter and a threat to marine life.

But what of the unintended consequences? Isle retailers say shoplifing is up noticeably — something about nefarious customers using their personal shopping bags to slip goods out the door unnoticed — and substitute bags provided by the retailers cost more than the old banned bags, adding to the prices consumers pay.

Are the drawbacks worth the benefits? We probably need more time to be sure.