I’ve always thought that the responsibility for global plastic pollution is mistakenly placed on the consumer. No one asked for their corn to come in a styrofoam and plastic wrapper, when it naturally comes in its own biodegradable wrapper. The responsibility for plastic proliferation and pollution should fall squarely on the shoulders of the corporations that produce and distribute it, in the form of a hefty tax penalty that can be avoided by using biodegradable alternatives instead.
Another terrific post. Thanks for the reminder that we CAN stop using plastics and make a difference. Passing this essay onto friends in my one-time hometown, Santa Barbara. It's good to be reminded your efforts are making a difference. Helps spur on desire for more change. Thanks, Katharine.
Hilton Head Island, SC, is another city where single use plastics is banned. Also the use of plastic straws are being asked to be replaced with compostable ones for all our birds and turtles especially.
Great post Katherine! It's really uplifting to read your analysis on the positive impact from EV shipping on the transportation industry. I saw a similar ship when I visited Stockholm last summer and it is very impressive to behold and have since learned that there was even a autonomous ferry for passenger traffic when I was there but sadly did not get to try out.
The plastic bag bans across the US is a great testiment to the power of consumer pressure on government and the positive impacts it can have on the environment. I read the New York state ban in 2020 resulted in a decrease in bags in the waste stream bags of 50%.
My favorite example of the one person is Christelle Thieffry of the Pacific island state Vanuatu whose FB campaign succeeded in drumming up support to ban the sale and distribution of some single-use plastics. It led to food replacing plastic with wrapped banana leaves for serving and previously banned items, neccessary in some cases, only making up 2% of Vanuatu’s waste compared with 35% before.
Thank you! Your advice is always so practical while making a difference. Our family made the switch to bar shampoo and laundry detergent sheets - what a difference in the amount of plastic trash we make! And less clutter. Works great. Economical and easy. Thanks again.
Such a lovely post! I can attest that I live in Chicago and we have a bunch of waste-free shops. There's one around the corner from me (The Eco Flamingo), and you can get a bunch of dry goods like oats, granola, baking goods etc alongside your shampoo and soaps. Add in reusable produce bags at the grocery store, and it's totally possible to cut a huge portion of plastic out entirely. The post is right though - we need better policy to prevent companies from making more in the first place!
Im in Alberta where the provincial government is pushing plastic from fossil fuel "natural" gas as a feedstock. They have threatened to "fire" city councillors who have put in a fee for plastic bags. Unfortunately the "reusable woven bags" are just being discarded. We have a long way to go to get away from plastic dependence. I should have paid more attention to grandma and her thrifty no waste ways!
I live in Maine and we also have a ban on the fruit plastic bags in the supermarket that used to be available. Now you use a paper bag which you pay five cents for or you bring your own bags I was surprised that we were not on your list!
I live in Queensland, Australia. Single use bags were banned a few years ago along with plastic straws, cutlery and take-away cups. One of our biggest issues though is plastic wrapping on larger items such as home furniture, TV's, etc, and even some "fresh" food packaging in supermarkets which we mostly avoid.
I’ve always thought that the responsibility for global plastic pollution is mistakenly placed on the consumer. No one asked for their corn to come in a styrofoam and plastic wrapper, when it naturally comes in its own biodegradable wrapper. The responsibility for plastic proliferation and pollution should fall squarely on the shoulders of the corporations that produce and distribute it, in the form of a hefty tax penalty that can be avoided by using biodegradable alternatives instead.
Another terrific post. Thanks for the reminder that we CAN stop using plastics and make a difference. Passing this essay onto friends in my one-time hometown, Santa Barbara. It's good to be reminded your efforts are making a difference. Helps spur on desire for more change. Thanks, Katharine.
Hilton Head Island, SC, is another city where single use plastics is banned. Also the use of plastic straws are being asked to be replaced with compostable ones for all our birds and turtles especially.
Great post Katherine! It's really uplifting to read your analysis on the positive impact from EV shipping on the transportation industry. I saw a similar ship when I visited Stockholm last summer and it is very impressive to behold and have since learned that there was even a autonomous ferry for passenger traffic when I was there but sadly did not get to try out.
The plastic bag bans across the US is a great testiment to the power of consumer pressure on government and the positive impacts it can have on the environment. I read the New York state ban in 2020 resulted in a decrease in bags in the waste stream bags of 50%.
My favorite example of the one person is Christelle Thieffry of the Pacific island state Vanuatu whose FB campaign succeeded in drumming up support to ban the sale and distribution of some single-use plastics. It led to food replacing plastic with wrapped banana leaves for serving and previously banned items, neccessary in some cases, only making up 2% of Vanuatu’s waste compared with 35% before.
Thank you! Your advice is always so practical while making a difference. Our family made the switch to bar shampoo and laundry detergent sheets - what a difference in the amount of plastic trash we make! And less clutter. Works great. Economical and easy. Thanks again.
Such a lovely post! I can attest that I live in Chicago and we have a bunch of waste-free shops. There's one around the corner from me (The Eco Flamingo), and you can get a bunch of dry goods like oats, granola, baking goods etc alongside your shampoo and soaps. Add in reusable produce bags at the grocery store, and it's totally possible to cut a huge portion of plastic out entirely. The post is right though - we need better policy to prevent companies from making more in the first place!
Im in Alberta where the provincial government is pushing plastic from fossil fuel "natural" gas as a feedstock. They have threatened to "fire" city councillors who have put in a fee for plastic bags. Unfortunately the "reusable woven bags" are just being discarded. We have a long way to go to get away from plastic dependence. I should have paid more attention to grandma and her thrifty no waste ways!
I live in Maine and we also have a ban on the fruit plastic bags in the supermarket that used to be available. Now you use a paper bag which you pay five cents for or you bring your own bags I was surprised that we were not on your list!
Sorry, free plastic bags, not fruit plastic bags
I live in Queensland, Australia. Single use bags were banned a few years ago along with plastic straws, cutlery and take-away cups. One of our biggest issues though is plastic wrapping on larger items such as home furniture, TV's, etc, and even some "fresh" food packaging in supermarkets which we mostly avoid.
Yes the extestential threat of fossil fuel usage And plastics and other toxins we produce that are also causing an extestential threat.