This is not going to save the world, but it is a small step that we should all applaud:
On Thursday, DiCicco and Kenney will introduce a bill that would ban regular plastic bags at supermarkets and pharmacies in favor of recyclable paper bags or new compostable plastic bags. And Kenney plans to introduce a companion bill that would ban polystyrene foam, commonly known as Styrofoam.
DiCicco said his legislation is modeled on a similar effort earlier this year in San Francisco.
"You walk into the store and buy a tube of toothpaste. It's in a box and they grab plastic bags and put it in them," DiCicco said. "There's no control on the number of bags they give you. The clerks don't pay attention to it. We're in a throwaway society for the last 40 years, and that's one of our problems. Packaging has gotten out of hand."
When I was in Germany last month, basically sequestered away, one of the only things to do was to walk over to the WalMart like supermarket (high entertainment!). I would peruse all the beer I couldn't drink, the chocolate I couldn't eat, and then settle on some delicious diet coke, go to pay, and despite my hands being full, I would rarely get a shopping bag from the checkout person. I could never figure out, nor ask, why the ladies couldn't just give me an effin bag. Then, finally, I realized that they were keeping them behind the counter because they charged you for each bag that you used.
It made sense- even if they were not costing out every externality- the store(s) were helping people remember that there are a lot of costs to using disposable bags. As Diccicco said, we are a throwaway society, and in a time of the coming global warming crisis, this is a small and smart step we can take to do out part in Philly.
Now, if we could only recycle....
Wow DiCicco
I just have to say that my mouth dropped open when I read this article in the paper. Hopefully it is a strong ban, with few or no exceptions. Philadelphia has the potential to be a leader in sustainability, and I'm so glad the councilman has brought this issue up.
and yes, it would be awesome if we had weekly single-stream recycling like everyone else.
Rock & RecycleNOW
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awesome and 90's flashback
what a good bill. as i was telling charlie last week, we have single stream now in west philly and i am obsessed with it. At 7:30 this AM i was actually watching from the window as they loaded my stuff into the truck and I am sure someone has explained this before, but how does single stream work? how do they sort cardboard from plastic etc. when they get back to the transfer center?
On a related note, does anyone else feel like we covered all this recycling talk back in the 90's when 50 Simple Things Kids Can do to Save the Earth was hot? Why are we still having this conversation--why isn't recycling fixed already?
For instance, why aren't there any places to recycle on the street in Center City? I walked by garbage cans overflowing with water bottles and cans today; it's a disgrace.
I applaud DiCicco on this
I certainly have my share of strong disagreements with DiCicco, primarily on the issue of being too cozy with developers and too disdainful of his constituents views on community development.
But I'm still behind him on many issues, and I think this has the makings of a good bill. Hooray.