We can save it together, but we must act now. The plastics industry is exploiting the coronavirus pandemic to rescind plastic bag bans in states and cities across the country.
The study examined how long the COVID virus can live on common surfaces, including paper, cardboard, cloth, stainless steel, glass and plastic. Its findings are eye-opening: paper, 3 hours; cloth, 2 days; and plastic, 3 days. Massachusetts Gov. Charlie Baker ordered 19 municipalities with restrictions on single use bags to overturn those laws.
Illinois Gov. Chris Sununu banned reusable bags from stores. Out West, Oregon suspended its newly-minted plastic bag ban, while elected officials from Bellingham, Washington, to Albuquerque, New Mexico, rolled back municipal laws outlawing single-use plastic bags. Shoppers, finally accustomed to toting reusable bags on their shopping trips, are now offered plastic bags as a default alternative. In three short weeks, reusable shopping bags, a consumer staple of nurturing environmental stewardship and public health, have lost important traction.
If this trend continues, the consequences will be devastating and disheartening. Plastic bags are environmental hazards. A single plastic bag can take between and 1, years to break down in the environment. These toxic pollutants are harmful to humans, animals and natural ecosystems. These sturdy throwbacks are reusable and a breeze to fold and store away. Doing so could force a showdown between people and the environment, a conflict ripe for exploitation by powerful special interests.
Gavin Newsom to lift the cent paper-bag fee until California has pulled through the coronavirus economic crisis. This time of dark uncertainty is a pivotal moment to take stock of the progress Californians have achieved to live more sustainably. Your email address will not be published.
