Faced with an unholy tonnage of
chip bags, soda bottles, takeout containers and other disposable plastic items
flowing into our landfills and our waters, winding up in wildlife, drinking water and food, policymakers in California have tried
reining in plastic waste bit by bit. For example, more than 100 cities have
adopted restrictions on polystyrene takeout containers, and the state has
banned single-use plastic grocery bags.
Considering the magnitude of the problem, however, this
item-by-item, city-by-city approach isn't going to cut it.
The state and local rules certainly have raised public awareness
about the problem. Denying free plastic bags at checkout or providing plastic
straws only on request sends consumers an important message that there's a
bigger cost to these everyday items than they may have considered. But the
actual flow of trash has been disrupted only modestly.
It's going to take more than a smattering of bans on single items
to cure society of its disposable-plastic habit. The sheer volume of plastic
trash now littering Earth has become impossible to ignore. It's time for
environmentalists, policymakers and elected officials to start planning a
broader response: phasing out all single-use
plastic, not just the most pernicious.
Please continue this article here: http://www.latimes.com/opinion/editorials/la-ed-plastic-plan-20180220-story.html
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