COLLINS: Someone finally takes the lead in reducing plastics
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BIG SHOUT-OUT today to the governor of California. Gavin Newsom last week signed into law a bill that would ban all plastic bags in the state starting in 2026. While some states and some places in Canada, have some limited, flimsy rules regarding plastics, California’s move is a big step forward.
Many of the current laws cover only certain types of plastic and are never enforced. Often our plastic bags are simply thrown on the ground and left to gather in piles on the roads, in the fields, or worse, in the water where they break down eventually into microplastics. Those microplastics then become a danger to animals, fish, and other inhabitants of the sea, killing many organisms. That forms a large gap in the food chain, leaving many bigger sea creatures to die.
I am just glad someone has finally stepped up to push the programs forward. Hopefully, others will follow suit. It’s been way too long in coming. First, we had to convince the conspiracy theorists that there was a problem. Then we had to show them just how big the problem was. Next, we had to tell the corporations using the bags that they had to stop the use of them. They’ve had plenty of time to reduce their inventories. They will now have to find other ways to deliver their goods.
You don’t have to go far to see the harm these plastics do. BC Tour Guides spent almost a month this summer cleaning 32.5 tonnes of plastics from the ocean in a small section of water. Imagine the amount we would find if we had the resources to cover more territory.
