Life without plastic - Taking Action

So, my week without plastic generated some interesting thoughts and discussion among readers. While last week, I was getting emails and messages with support and ideas for overcoming my own plastic challenges, this week, I'm getting the question:"Now what?" What can we do to change this? How can we keep from putting plastic in our waterways? How is my behavior as one person going to change anything? Answer: it won't. My biggest observation while abstaining from plastic is the mindlessness with which other people buy it, use and throw it away. The only way to stop them from doing that is to make it illegal. Illegal? Yipes. Plastic companies will get mad. They'll guilt us for using paper bags. Yes, well, we should also feel guilty about that. Here's an idea: buy and use re-usable bags. They're very handy.

I've just read that Ikea stopped using plastic bags and went to only reusable bags due to a 92% vote from customers. So you don't think you have a voice? You do! Use it.

This is what I'm going to do this week, and I invite all of you to join me. I'm going to contact all of the elected officials of Corvallis and Albany, Benton County and Linn County and Governor Kulongoski (contact info below) to say it isn't OK for stores in our community to continue to use plastic bags, and I want them banned now and replaced with reusable bags. Oregon was trying this year to be the first state to ban plastic bags in stores and pharmacies. They didn't get the bill together in time for last year, so it's going to come up again in January. They got some nasty pressure from plastic bag companies as well. I'm sure the people who work in plastic bag companies can work in reusable bag companies. Portland is trying to make it's own ban in the meantime. Why can't Corvallis and Albany do it too? We banned smoking in restaurants, we can ban plastic bags in stores. We don't want a 5 cent tax like Washington DC. We already have that fee, and it doesn't deter. What's five cents? (Well, actually, 5 cents a day is $18.25 per year, which is enough to buy several reusable grocery bags that can fit in your purse or on your key chain. (http://www.chicobag.com/)) Come on, we can do it! We have a tiny little town with elected officials who post their home phone numbers on their website as if they really want to hear from us. Even if you don't live in Corvallis or Albany, you have local officials in your area who are real people, in every one of us has the power within our own town to make this change. San Francisco is doing it for goodness sake!

Corvallis City government:

http://www.ci.corvallis.or.us/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=121&Itemid=87

Mayor: Charlie Thomlinson 541-766-6901

Ward 1: Mark O’Brien 541-766-6491

Ward 2: Patricia Daniels 541-766-6492

Ward 3: Richard Hervey 541-766-6985

Ward 4: Dan Brown 541-766-6494

Ward 5: Mike Beilstein 541-766-6495

Ward 6: Joel Hirsch 541-766-6496

Ward 7: Jeanne Raymond (541) 766-6497

Ward 8: David Hamby 541-766-6498

Ward 9: Hal Brauner 541-766-6499

Albany City government:

http://cityofalbany.net/council/

Sharon Konopa, Mayor 926-6812

Dick Olsen, Ward I(a) 926-7348

Floyd Collins, Ward I(b) 928-2961

Ralph Reid, Jr., Ward II(a) 928-7382

Bill Coburn, Ward II(b) 928-0649

Bessie Johnson, Ward III(a) 791-2494

Jeff Christman, Ward III(b) 926-0528

Benton county:

Benton County Board of Commissioners
408 SW Monroe Avenue

Suite 111 (located on the mezzanine)

PO Box 3020
Corvallis, OR 97339-3020

Phone: 541-766-6800
Fax: 541-766-689

Linn county:

Linn County Courthouse, Room 201

Hours: 8:30 A.M. - 5:00 P.M. Mon - Fri

Phone: 541-967-3825

Oregon government:

Governor:

Governor Kulongoski 160 State Capitol 900 Court Street Salem, Oregon 97301-4047

PHONE Governor’s Citizens’ Representative Message Line 503.378.4582

Senate Bill 1009, introduced by Senators Jason Atkinson (R-Central Point) and Mark Hass (D-Beaverton), represents a significant first step in addressing the problems created by the proliferation of single-use bags. It would go a long way toward reducing Oregon’s annual use of 39 million plastic bags which require 150,000 barrels of oil to produce, unnecessarily fill our landfills where they don’t biodegrade, and cause significant litter along roadways, waterways and beaches where they harm wildlife. Jurisdictions around the world, including China, Ireland, Bangladesh, Mexico City, San Francisco and even Washington DC, have laws in place designed to limit their use. Oregon would become a leader in the U.S. by establishing the first statewide ban.

Oregon Legislature convenes in January 2011, state lawmakers may be considering outlawing the use of plastic bags to carry groceries across the entire state.