Editor:
So, Nicki Marshall (Optimist, letters, Aug. 4) thinks that the governments’ mandate, to eliminate plastic bags, is ridiculous because: 1) The price of paper bags doesn’t get collected by governments; 2) We went to plastic bags to save trees; 3) We ban plastic bags, and have to buy plastic garbage liners; 4) We banned Styrofoam containers, and restaurants are now using plastic containers; 5) We went from glass bottles to plastic bottles; and 6) Other consumer goods are made of plastic (eg. car interiors).
She further states that our reliance on oil won’t subside, and that the ban on plastic bags does nothing to help the planet.
Unfortunately, negativity borne out of frustration, like that exhibited by Greg Hoover in a previous letter, is not very helpful right now.
The ban on plastic bags is just one small baby step, towards solving the problem of plastic pollution that is strangling our planet.
Baby steps, Nicki, baby steps.
That is what politicians, at all levels of government, only seem to understand.
We didn’t start using plastic bags to save trees.
That was just a slick marketing ploy, to get consumers to accept a product that was cheaper for manufacturers to use (eg. clear plastic on bakery boxes, revealed the “freshness” of the product.)
Many people behind the scenes have lobbied for many years, to get this far.
Several years ago, I sent a used Styrofoam container, wrapped in a plastic bag, along with a letter, to city hall.
The onus was on the city council to dispose of it.
A city employee probably just threw the containers in the garbage, but hopefully the city got the point.
There are things that the average person can do, in the meantime, until more concrete steps are taken, to eliminate plastic from our planet altogether: 1) Bring your own bags to the grocery store, or buy paper bags, and then use them for composting; 2) Lobby governments to provide incentives for companies, that switch from plastic to environmentally-friendly containers and cutlery (eg. bamboo); 3) Buy products in glass containers, or recycle containers, whenever possible; 4) Buy a more environmentally efficient electric or used car; 5) Walk, ride a bicycle, take transit, or use HandyDART more often; 6) Eat less meat, and eat more vegetables, and 7) Buy local, not global (eg. Amazon).
It’s not ridiculous. It can be done if we actively do our part, including politicians.
A Cameron
