Editorial: What plastic bag ban? California stores still doling out disposable sacks
This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
What’s wrong with plastic bags?
As you sip your coffee or soda, what you are actually consuming is plastic: hundreds of microplastics suspended in an environmental toxin of plastic bags. They are tiny plastic micro-shards of microplastic pollution floating in your coffee cup, your soda can, your toothpaste, your laundry detergent bottle, and on and on.
What’s wrong with plastic bags?
The problem isn’t just that people are using plastic bags as trashcans; it is the fact that so many are not properly or efficiently being recycled. Millions and millions of pounds of plastic bags get thrown away each year.
What’s wrong with plastic bags?
The answer is simple: In the early 1990s, the United States began to phase out polystyrene (PS) plastic bags. But these plastic bags have proved to be effective barriers to prevent pollution.
What’s wrong with plastic bags?
The simple answer is that the United States has a problem. The plastic bags have been out there for years, so why are people still using them?
In recent years, as more people have become aware of the environmental impact of plastic bags, people have gradually begun to take action. They have switched to reusable plastic bags, which are easier to find, and even recycle.
A new recycling program in San Diego County, for example, requires recyclers to pay a fee for every plastic bag they recycle. Other communities in California are implementing programs of their own, such as one in the Bay Area that was launched by the San Francisco public health department.
What’s wrong with plastic bags?
In June 2006, San Diego County voters chose to ban plastic bags, becoming the fifth county in the nation to do so. And they did so against the backdrop of a recent study that found that San
