Plastic Bag Ban in Westport Connecticut
Westport Town Representatives earlier this week overwhelmingly passed a resolution on the ban of plastic bags by a vote of 26 to 5. The resolution is making local businesses give up on using plastic bags within the next 6 months. Fines of up to $150 could be given out of stores continue to use plastic bags. This new resolution is encouraging businesses to also start promoting reusable bags as an alternative.
This is not the first time that a town has banned plastic bags. San Fransisco and Los Angeles have already passed have similar bans and have already made a significant difference. In San Fransisco alone, 5 million fewer plastic bags are being used every month. That is way more bags being saved that I would have ever thought. I can’t imagine how many less bags would be used if a really large city like New York or Washington DC decided to have a ban like this. Even though that will probably not happen anytime soon, at least smaller cities like Westport are doing their part.
I can imagine this being a fairly controversial issue in most cities. For me, it just doesn’t make much sense to continue using the large number of plastic bags our country already does. Most people simply toss them out after one use anyways. As I have seen in many stores, people don’t really need a bag, but are given one regardless. Women normally could toss small items they are buying into their purses or most people could just carry the item without need to have a bag.
The biggest concern is plastic bags are extremely harmful on the environment. Many sea animals eat plastic bags in mistake of jelly fish and can die as a result. Besides the environmental dangers, plastic bags are financial stupid for businesses. Companies have to pay for them in one way or another and usually push the price to the good we buy, meaning we end up paying more. I’m with Westport on this issue, but I think people need to take it upon themselves to stop using plastic bags. You can buy a reusable bag or use a bag you already have. Nobody is perfect and you won’t always remember to bring a bag every time you got shopping. If you do end up using plastic bags, there are many places including grocery stores that have recycling bins to use instead of just throwing them out.
