What is the future of plastic bags?
Well, while we at EPPC cannot predict the future, we are also pretty confident that plastic bags are on their way out. The only question is, when?
It is only a matter of time with great role models around the world already taking action. Italy banned plastic bags at the beginning of this year. China’s ban on free single-use bags in 2008 resulted in a two-thirds reduction. A five-cent tax on bags in Washington D.C. resulted in an 85 percent reduction in one month. California is also starting to do its part with bag bans in L.A. County, San Francisco, Malibu, Fairfax, Palo Alto and San Jose.
These bags hurt California, as well as other states, because they become waste. More than 19 billion bags are used in California each year! It also costs California $25 million annually to discard plastic bags in the landfill.
Locally, there are groups in Davis trying to ban plastic bags, and this movement is gaining traction as it has been featured in several local media outlets.
If you want to support this cause, you can write letters to the Davis City Council and encourage them to ban single-use plastic bags. Care to act even more locally? Some students are pushing to ban plastic bags on campus as well. ASUCD passed a resolution supporting the ban of plastic bags and only a couple of places on campus still distribute them. So next time you are shopping on campus, bring a bag, or buy one on campus (preferably cloth and made in the U.S.).
Want to take more action? Write the UC Davis Bookstore and let them know you want to see more reusable bag options and plastic bag reductions, if not an outright ban.
Ask EPPC questions or tell us how to live green. Submit to margaret.link@gmail.com and win a green prize worth your effort.
