Plastic Bags: Ocean State Eyesore
East Greenwich and other RI communities should ban plastic grocery bags.
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The College Park Committee for a Better Environment is teaming up with the Prince George's County Sierra Club for a film viewing of the movie Bag It.
"Bag It"
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Photos
With the State of Rhode Island boasting hundreds of miles of coastline and thousands of acres of public and state parks, the beauty of our environment is a precious resource to everyone in the Ocean State; protecting it should be a top priority. However, our state's natural beauty is threatened by plastic waste that gets into our waterways, parks, yards, and roadsides, and that clogs our landfills; with the help of plastic, the Johnston landfill is now the highest point in the state.
Far too much of this trash comes from an unnecessary product used for just five minutes before being thrown away: disposable plastic grocery bags that threaten to take hundreds to thousands of years to photo-degrade. Nothing we use for just a few minutes should tarnish our state and pollute our treasured natural places. Luckily, the solution is simple: ban plastic bags. This movement is gaining exciting momentum around the country, and it’s time for the Ocean State to protect its environment and join the effort. Towns like East Greenwich can lead the way by enacting bag ban ordinances.
Aaron Yang is a member of Environment Rhode Island is a statewide, citizen-funded environmental advocacy group.
Umoja
6:12 pm on Tuesday, February 7, 2012
"Far too much of this trash comes from an unnecessary product used for just five minutes before being thrown away: disposable plastic grocery bags that threaten to take hundreds to thousands of years to photo-degrade. Nothing we use for just a few minutes should tarnish our state and pollute our treasured natural places."
I think this is the most important part of this article. It is also my opinion that garbage liners, being made of much heavier material & used only for the sole purpose of holding unwanted garbage should be eliminated as well. With majority of the households having more than one can - each with a plastic liner, it really does add up & thats why I strongly believe The Maverick bagless trash can would be a great solution for this. Thanks for all the hard work you are doing to keep our beautiful planet clean.
BOB I
7:27 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
baning everything is not the answer, personal responsibility is.
Lynn Krim
8:22 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
What is the Maverick bagless trash can?
ratcat1
8:47 am on Wednesday, February 8, 2012
Actually, I think banning what we as a society view as problem causers IS the way to go. Those of us who read and care about our environment will do what is right whether there are laws or not but those of us who dont give a damn, need to be forced to "do the right thing" and if there were no plastic bags, these folks cant clutter up our roadways and waterways with them.Buy a canvas bag (or two) and reuse it.....
Tucker Henry
4:30 pm on Thursday, February 9, 2012
Agreed. Banning everything is short sighted. Recycling and proper disposal of items is the way to go.
I've participated in shore line trash pick ups and it's mostly cigarettes, coffee cups and beer cans. Never once saw a plastic bag.
Tired of Tired
7:57 am on Friday, February 17, 2012
Let's ban filtered cigarettes, coffee and beer, while we're at it. Let's not forget automobile tires, diapers, computers, television sets. In fact, let's ban everything that does not have zero environmental impact.
Those evil plastic bags have been specially designed to disintegrate at a much faster rate than plastic beverage bottles.