A little ways back I posted this meme on our Insta feed and it was well received.
Who can relate?
But it seems that just as we're getting used to the reusable G-Bag, there's some important data coming out of the state of California.
"It was a decade ago when California became the first state in the nation to ban single-use plastic bags, ushering in a wave of anti-plastic legislation from coast to coast.
But in the years after California seemingly kicked its plastic grocery sack habit, material recovery facilities and environmental activists noticed a peculiar trend: Plastic bag waste by weight was increasing to unprecedented levels." (Susanne Rust, LA Times)
In fact, California's plastic waste levels have increased 47%, if you measure plastic consumption by weight.
How did this happen?
Plastic manufacturers found a loop hole that enabled them to sell a THICKER (and heavier) plastic bag that was 'technically' reusable, but to the untrained eye it looked basically the same as a regular plastic bag.
What's more, grocery stores started selling them for $.10, enabling them to claim they were reusable even though they didn't LOOK reusable.
And what was the end result? Consumers assumed they were disposable bags and so... Plastic consumption went up by 47%.
Ugh. And it hasn't been easy to reverse.
So what's the good news?
Fortunately, when New York and New Jersey followed California's lead, they were able to close the loop on that loop hole.
And now California is forging ahead with new enacting that will impose a more broad ban on single use plastics, shifting the onus of responsibility from the consumers and municipalities, to COMPANIES THAT MAKE THE PLASTIC.
And THAT, IT, is where I get excited. Because when we start to make corporations accountable, I think we're way more likely to see positive change!
