NEWS UPDATE >>> TIMES UNION: Prep for plastic bag ban and zombie apocalypse
Feb. 15, 2020
Contrary to what my children will tell you, I do not enjoy repeating myself. But there are times when the world refuses to bend to my will and I have no recourse but to share the wisdom of my opinion on a subject a second time.
I’ve written before on the single-use plastic bag ban, arguing that it’s an important step in protecting the environment and that people can make the switch to reusable bags without the world coming to an end.
Despite that pithy piece of rhetoric, however, there still seems to be a lot of handwringing on the subject.
So listen up, because — like I tell my kids — if I have to say it one more time, there will be consequences.
I’ve been anxiously awaiting the ban to take effect March 1, a feeling that becomes particularly acute as I stand behind someone using enough plastic bags at the grocery checkout to choke a whale. And they probably will.
That’s because only one percent of the approximately 100 billion plastic bags used in this country each year get recycled.
The rest end up littering our roadsides, or filling up our landfills and oceans, where the aforementioned whales happen to live.
Contrary to what my children will tell you, I do not enjoy repeating myself. But there are times when the world refuses to bend to my will and I have no recourse but to share the wisdom of my opinion on a subject a second time.
I’ve written before on the single-use plastic bag ban, arguing that it’s an important step in protecting the environment and that people can make the switch to reusable bags without the world coming to an end.
Despite that pithy piece of rhetoric, however, there still seems to be a lot of handwringing on the subject. So listen up, because — like I tell my kids — if I have to say it one more time, there will be consequences.
I’ve been anxiously awaiting the ban to take effect March 1, a feeling that becomes particularly acute as I stand behind someone using enough plastic bags at the grocery checkout to choke a whale.
And they probably will. That’s because only one percent of the approximately 100 billion plastic bags used in this country each year get recycled.
The rest end up littering our roadsides, or filling up our landfills and oceans, where the aforementioned whales happen to live.
So I was dismayed to learn that there is a push to delay the ban on single-use plastic bags because of concerns that it will take us all by surprise.
But cashiers, who will bear the brunt of any public dissatisfaction, have been telling customers who insist on plastic that those bags won’t be available much longer.
And people are slowly catching on. I’m a professional procrastinator and even I have made the switch to reusable shopping bags well before the deadline.
There’s also a lot of talk that the public isn’t ready for the change. Searching “plastic bag ban” on the Internet will convince anyone that the only possible outcome is chaos, confusion and the breakdown of civilization as we know it.
Which seems like a bit of an overreaction to asking people to remember to carry reusable bags into the store with them.
I think we’d be better off if we reserved our energy for something that really will cause chaos and that the public definitely isn’t ready for — like a zombie apocalypse.
It’s easy to spot the parallels between the single-use plastic bag ban and a zombie apocalypse….
https://www.timesunion.com/opinion/article/Prep-for-plastic-bag-ban-and-zombie-apocalypse-15059290.php