And if you live in Los Angeles, it includes using your own reusable shopping bags by summer 2010!
Yes!
This week the Los Angeles City Council passed a ban on plastic bags (if the state doesn't make good on its threat to require a 25 cent charge for each plastic bag.) This is really great news.
Those flimsy plastic bags are a nightmare. They're manufactured using petroleum products, they don't decompose, they get caught in fences and on bushes. They pile up in my pantry because I feel guilty about just throwing them away.
Today I sent emails to each of the 15 L.A. City Council members thanking them for passing the ban. It's wonderful that they are taking the lead in changing the way we do things, and it'l hopefully support the state in passing its own legislation.
All those tote bags you've gotten as gifts or as rewards for joining book clubs? Dig 'em out and use 'em!
Here's the L.A. City Council's homepage, in case you want to write and thank them too. I just wrote up a little form letter and cut and pasted it, changing the name of the councilmember.
The automatic replies I received from each were really interesting too. A different tone and a different amount of information in each.
I just went and read a few of the bills regarding plastic bags and recycling of various plastic products that are in the California Senate and Assembly right now. What's disturbing about the one that I think the Los Angeles ban would defer to(AB 2058) is that it bans only non-reusable bags. It actually says that heavier plastic bags are okay to provide because they're meant to be reused. Aren't those also harder to break down in landfills!?
If you want to see the various bills in play right now, click here and do a keyword search on plastic and/or recycling.
To find your California State Assembly and Senate representatives by zip code, click here.
To find your state legislature in whatever state you're in, go to the National Conference of State Legislatures, highlight your state in one box and legislature in the other, and click on Get Legislature Links.
You can contact your U.S. Senators and U.S. Representatives, too.
2 comments:
If you need to buy reusable ones, Whole Foods' reusable bags are the best. They're really big!
KathyR - Good tip! I have about half a dozen Trader Joe's reusables in different styles, plus I'm using totes that I've picked up over the years. The baggers at major grocery stores just can't seem to wrap their minds around the concept that with a cloth bag, you can put more than say, a bunch of green onions and a head of romaine in one bag!
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