Plastic Bag Bans On the Rise
Still struggling with the question of paper or plastic? The new green answer is, “I brought my own.”
Last year San Francisco became the first city in the U.S. to ban plastic bags, and this month China made headlines when they started enforcing a strict no-plastic-bag policy. In Ireland, Sweden and German, special taxes have been imposed on plastic bags. They’re not alone. As the price of oil continues to rise and concern about the environment increases, more local, state and national legislators are considering similar laws. In recent months, lawmakers in places such as Hawaii, California, Iowa, Texas, Canada, and South Australia have considered or passed plastic bag bans.
The arguments against plastic bags are multifold - they aren’t biodegradable, they require vast amounts of oil to produce (an estimated 12 billion barrels each year in the U.S. alone) and they are a hazard to wildlife, particularly sea life.
According to Environment California, “plastic bags and other plastic garbage thrown into the ocean kill as many as 1 million sea creatures every year. The number of marine mammals that die each year due to ingestion of and entanglement in plastic approaches 100,000 in the North Pacific Ocean alone.” The Environmental Literacy Council say a minke whale that washed up on a beach at Normandy in 2002 had 800 grams of plastic and packaging in its stomach.
Due to these causes, more and more cities, counties, and even countries are taking action. But why wait for your city council or state legislator to change the law? It’s never to early to make a change on your own. It’s easy. Here are three simple tips to help you kick the plastic bag habit.
1. Take all the plastic bags in your house to the local recycling center or drop them in the recycle bin in front of your local grocery store. Only about 3% of plastic bags ever get recycled, so do your part by recycling what you’ve got in your house now.
2. Just say no. The next time you’re in line to buy one or two items, politely ask your checker not to bag them. After all, if you were able to carry that bottle of Coke and frozen burrito to the checkout line without a bag, can’t you make it all the way back to your car or office?
3. Buy reusable bags. Major chain stores such as Safeway, Toys R Us and others are starting to offer inexpensive (sometimes as low as 99 cents) canvas or other reusable bags. Buy some and stick them in your car so they’ll be there for your next shopping trip. For fancier bags, check out reusablebags.com or create your own canvas photo bag at sites such as Shutterfly.
A plastic bag ban may be the horizon in your area soon, so beat the crowd and go green now.
