In a city of such active and open-minded people, you’d think
it’d be a no brainer for the people of Austin to keep around the plastic bag
ban. This new restriction is a milestone in keeping the city’s beautiful
streets clear and our ecosystem clean. What Austinite wants to be in the middle
of an afternoon job around Lady Bird Lake only to keep trekking over dirty
H-E-B bags? What could be more of a day downer than floating into a patch of
ducks strangled in cheap plastic while swimming in Barton Springs?
Local stores can also bring in some money by banning plastic
bags. Everyone loves an economy boost! Instead of giving away the plastic ones
for free, stores can start charging to sell their customers reusable bags. It
doesn’t have to be much; a couple dollars
per bag can add up fast. Reusable bags can be stylish, bright, fun, and they
can represent the city of the Austin. I wouldn’t doubt that such a trendy
population would deny themselves a hip “Jeremiah the Innocent” bag, would you?
These bags can act as both a trend for the buyer and advertising space for
local stores, bands, attractions, events, etc.
The ban is a great step toward healing the environment and
preventing further damage to it. Plastic bags litter both urban and rural
areas. Most of them go to waste and aren’t recycled. I can’t tell you how many
bags my family throws away every week after we’ve gone grocery shopping. Not
only do they dirty our towns, but they continue to dirty the planet even after people
are done using them. They contribute to landfills, aren’t made from renewable
resources, and can kill harmless animals all over the country.
While it may be tough to replace the “bag in tree” game on
family road trips, this ban is vital to the progress of not only our lovely
city of Austin but also to the world as a whole. We’re setting examples of
efficiency, style, and health without sacrificing much ourselves. Is this even
really a debate?
1 comment:
Great blog, Lisa! I completely agree with your opinion on banning plastic bags in Austin. Can you imagine how much trash these plastic bags produce? I really think it will help protect the environment. Growing up in Europe I know how advanced they are over there when it comes to recycling and protecting the environment. Countries such as Germany and Italy have banned plastic bags for many years. Just like in Austin today, you have to bring your own bags or pay to purchase a bag which is how it should be. I am very excited that Austin is taking a step in the right direction by taking this initiative. However, in order to make a difference and really help to protect the environment this entire country needs to make an effort to do so. One city alone is not going to have as much of an impact. The Blog “No Bag for You: The Stupidity of BanningPlastic Bags” shows that there are still several ignorant people out there who simply don’t care about saving our planet for our future generations. Hopefully this mindset will change soon and that the entire United States will follow the city of Austin. Banning plastic bags will give people a sense of awareness for the environment, help reduce trash and like you said it will prevent ducks from getting strangled in them.
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