You may shudder at the images of dead whales and sea birds with their guts filled with plastic. You may wonder how we got into this mess. You may even ask how we can get out of it at this late stage of the game. Good signs that you have some concern for where we all live.
Here in Cook County it is no longer unusual to see plastic bags caught in trees along the highway, or along its shoulders. There should be a pang somewhere within you that responds to this, a response that requires you to hope for “no more plastic, please,” or say, “paper, please” the next time you buy something.
Better yet, bring your own bags, and ask the merchant to cease buying them. This isn’t a tremendous hardship for those of us in Cook County, or for the visitors who will start arriving next month. It’s a simple beginning to a much-needed solution.
Is it possible that we take it one step further and ban single use plastic? Many cities in the U.S., and countries around the world, have implemented this very thing – Montreal: no more plastic bags. Period. Seattle, Malibu: single plastics banned. Hamburg: plastic coffee pods. And entire countries: Kenya: fine of $38,000 for using, producing, or selling plastic bags! Vanuatu: plastic bags and bottles. UK: a tax on plastic bags. Zimbabwe: Styrofoam…you know, peanuts, etc.; the material that takes up to a million years to decompose.
Is it possible that we can count ourselves in with the big guys? Make some sort of an impact? Inspire? There are a few places in Grand Marais that have taken these kinds of initiatives, and there has been no hardship to their customers. I hear people say, “Oh, look at this, a cardboard take away container.” Sounds about right. And didn’t we use mostly cardboard, or wax-coated cardboard before plastic?
China is no longer interested in our dirty garbage, so it may very well be time to take responsibility for ourselves and what we consume. Start to give the rest of the inhabitants a break. Rein it in. Change our policies. Spiritedly joining up to pick up garbage on the highway is a laudable action, and deeply appreciated. Not having to in the first place is a whole different ball game.
Cameron Norman
Hovland
Leave a Reply