Green Spot

A prior post in early June mentioned that single-use plastic bags, most commonly found in supermarkets, would be banned in California. The measure was introduced to the State Assembly and has passed, but now goes to the State Assembly for voting. In that post, we stated that if plastic bags from the market were banned, Californians would have to:

“Bring a reusable bag or pay 5¢ for a post-consumer paper bag at the market, but know that we will all be reducing waste that harms our environment. Plastic does not biodegrade . . . rather, it breaks down in to smaller pieces and makes its way in to our bodies, air, water, ground and becomes harmful to our world.”

If the ban goes in to effect, as of Summer 2013, nearly all markets would forego offering plastic, single-use bags, and only post-consumer paper bags at five cents each or ensure reusable bags are used. Organizations such as Heal The Bay, San Diego Coastkeeper, the California Grocers Association and even municipalities that currently enact a ban such as San Francisco and Oakland backed up the measure, and showed a lot of support.

Spokespeople from the American Chemistry Council do not support the measure, as it would make California the first state to ban it, following in the path of countries and cities around the world. As the bill makes its way to the state Senate, Governor Schwarzenegger has backed the bill as well, hopefully providing the influence the Senate needs to terminate plastic waste from reaching our waterways and help our planet’s future.

OH GOD NO! SAVE ME! BAN PLASTIC BAGS!

A UK government study has found that the so-called “degradable” (note that it is spelled and called ‘degradable’, not ‘biodegradable’) plastic bags that market-giant Tesco has been handing out and toting as eco-friendly are NOT what they seem. Although it is a small PR snafu for a major retailer, they still manage to offer reusable bags for customers and post great profits which they share with their employees.

And then there’s water bottles - which represents an odd privatization of fresh water that the documentary ‘Flow‘ discusses, is easily recyclable, but many still struggle to maintain recycling as a habit. We here at Simply Green Solutions always recommend filling a reusable canteen or two each day from your faucet, as it reduces waste that can sometimes end up in the middle of the ocean.

There’s interesting news for us locally, here in California. Due to recent discussions among lawmakers:

“Californians would no longer get plastic bags at supermarket check-out stands…”

Single use plastic bags would be banned in California, and the over 500 flimsy bags that are used PER PERSON in this state would be a thing of the past. Bring a reusable bag or pay 5¢ for a post-consumer paper bag at the market, but know that we will all be reducing waste that harms our environment. Plastic does not biodegrade as Tesco had claimed, rather, it breaks down in to smaller pieces and makes its way in to our bodies, air, water, ground and becomes harmful to our world.

No longer will our world be degraded by plastic, as this is one step of many that is taken to heal, to help and to reduce the harm done and make the planet a greener place to live.

California plans to reduce plastic waste.