Letter: Plastic bags: Reduce, re-use, recycle, re-think

Posted 3/7/19

To the editor:

More than 100 billion single-use plastic bags are distributed each year in the United States, the vast majority of which are used once and then discarded rather than re-used or …

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Letter: Plastic bags: Reduce, re-use, recycle, re-think

Posted

To the editor:

More than 100 billion single-use plastic bags are distributed each year in the United States, the vast majority of which are used once and then discarded rather than re-used or recycled. These non-biodegradable bags can take more than 300 years to break down, during the course of which they leach toxic chemicals that can find their way into our water and oceans, killing nearly 100,000 marine animals and more than one million seabirds per year. They litter our landscape and our beaches, clog our storm drains, and fill our rivers, lakes, and seas, posing an ever-increasing threat to wildlife and the environment. 

While plastic bags are convenient to use, their production consumes large amounts of petroleum (4.3 billion gallons of crude oil per year) and requires large amounts of fossil fuel-based energy, indirectly contributing to global warming by streaming excess greenhouse gases into the atmosphere. The petroleum used to make 14 plastic bags would be enough to drive a car one mile.

There is no reason why we can't act responsibly to eliminate plastic bags. We have an opportunity and an obligation to do so. Portsmouth, Dartmouth, Bristol, Barrington, Middletown, Newport, and Boston have all banned single-use plastic bags. In June 2008, China implemented a nationwide ban on retailers distributing plastic bags free of charge.​ Their aim was to save hundreds of thousands of gallons of fossil fuel and to prevent thousands of tons of global warming gases from polluting the atmosphere. ​Seven years later, plastic bag use by supermarkets and shopping malls had decreased by 67%, saving 8.4 million tons of oil, 12 million tons of standard coal, and 30 million tons of CO2. In 2015, France issued a ban on plastic bags and in 2016 it became the first country to declare a total ban on plastic cups, plates, and cutlery. A host of other cities and countries have followed suit with similar initiatives.

The younger generation is taking action to insure a habitable planet for their future. “Young Voices for the Planet” (https://youngvoicesfortheplanet.com​)​, has been advocating "to limit the magnitude of climate change and its impacts by empowering children and youth, through uplifting and inspiring success stories, to take an essential role in informing their communities, challenging decision-makers, and catalyzing change." Through their efforts, among many other challenges, “Team Marine” high school students successfully campaigned to pass a ban on plastic bags in the city of Santa Monica in 2011 and in 2014 helped to pass a statewide ban on plastic bags in California. One student, 9 year old Milo Cress, launched a "Be Straw Free" campaign last year in an effort to convince restaurants to refrain from automatically providing disposable plastic drinking straws (nearly 500 million of which are used daily in the U.S. alone) ​unless specifically requested by the customer. He has already had a measurable impact in states such as Colorado and Washington (beginning in July 2108, Seattle became the first U.S. city to enact a total ban on plastic straws), igniting a movement to "skip the straw" nationwide. Visit the website to see these kids in action!

Teachers who wish to help students get involved in civic action like this can use the “Civic Engagement Curriculum Guide” that can be found on the website under the “for teachers” tab.

If these kids can manage to catalyze change to benefit our environment, why can't we join them in their efforts by revisiting the ordinance previously proposed by Sustainable Sakonnet and this time pass a ban on single-use plastic bags in Tiverton once and for all? It’s neither hard nor a hardship to bring a few durable re-usable bags to the store with you when you go shopping; and how simple a measure to do our part in preserving the environment! If cities, states, and entire countries can do this, why can’t we?

Harton Smith and Mary Bandura

Tiverton

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A lifelong Portsmouth resident, Jim graduated from Portsmouth High School in 1982 and earned a journalism degree from the University of Rhode Island in 1986. He's worked two different stints at East Bay Newspapers, for a total of 18 years with the company so far. When not running all over town bringing you the news from Portsmouth, Jim listens to lots and lots and lots of music, watches obscure silent films from the '20s and usually has three books going at once. He also loves to cook crazy New Orleans dishes for his wife of 25 years, Michelle, and their two sons, Jake and Max.