Earth Friendly Shopping

We have long said that if you can only do one thing for the environment,  it would be to bring a reusable canvas bag with you when shopping, rather than using a plastic bag.

• Plastic bags are bad news on numerous levels:
• They are made from petrochemicals,  oil – you know that stuff that’s been gushing into the gulf
• Less then 1% are recycled
• They can last 1000 years in landfill, but most never actually make it into landfill, instead they wind up in rivers, lake, and oceans, where they degrade into smaller and smaller pieces, and end up in the food stream.

Anything we can do to reduce the amount of plastic, particularly single use plastic,  such as shopping bags and water bottles, is a positive development.  We would love to see people getting rid of plastic on their own, but  we know that isn’t going to happen.  So we are pleased to see developments like this

Legislation passed today by the state Assembly would prohibit grocery stores, pharmacies, liquor stores and convenience stores from giving out plastic bags. It would also charge customers for using store-issued paper bags.

If signed into law, California would be the first state to impose a statewide ban.

The ban’s goal is to get rid of unsightly plastic bags that often wind up in urban rivers and the ocean, as well as reduce the number of bags heading for landfills.

A spokesman for Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger said the Republican governor supports a plastic bag ban. The bill, AB 1998, still needs Senate approval.

The text of the bill can be found here

Let’s hope this makes it all the way through

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