WINDHAM, Maine — A Windham eighth-grader’s proposal to ban plastic bags in Maine has taken a baby step forward.
The Windham Town Council on Tuesday rejected an outright ban on plastic bags in the community as suggested by Sierra Yost, but did vote to send a resolution to the Legislature in Augusta to consider a statewide ban.
Yost says she made the proposal after finding out about the negative environmental impacts of plastic bags during a science project.
She tells WGME-TV that the council’s moves Tuesday were “a good step.”
The draft resolution asks retailers to stop offering single-use plastic shopping bags and certain paper bags, and encourages residents to use reusable shopping bags.
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“People are pigs.”
Such a broad brush that you paint with, Gadael. Many of us attempt to use plastic bags sparingly, and when we do, we recycle and reuse them. Yes, there are a small percentage who litter – but do not lose faith in humanity.
When you do, you lose respect for yourself.
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I’m no fan of Walmart, but I think the problem is not confined to Walmart, you can find plastic bag litter at any large retailer or strip mall.
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ok so if plastic bags are banned what will become of all that plastic thats currently recycled into them? i see more paper cups, soda cans, cigarette butts, and mcdonalds trash littering the sides of the roads than i do plastic bags. actually i dont see a whole lot of plastic bags littering the roads at all. seems like alot of hoopla about nothing.
Try looking beyond the roads. The world is much bigger than the road outside your window.
http://plasticbags.planetark.org/about/wildlife.cfm
I know the teens heart is in the right place. But it seems unrealistic, and unlikely to ever go anywhere. There is a place for those items. Banning them doens’t make them go away. Educating the consumers, I think, would hold more promise.
Maryland just passed a law that forces business to charge 5 cents per plastic bag used. Even that small amount has been a great deterant, and if you really need the bags for catlitter or whatever, they are still avalable.
It is not a state wide law at the current time. Montgomery County has it but next door PG County does not and Maryland is a very large state with a lot of different Counties.
Yes, you are correct about that. I live in Montgomery County, so I can say that generally the reaction has been positive. Also, Maryland is a pretty small state, really .
Maryland is a lot larger than most people think it is though. It doesn’t look very large on a map and I’m sorry to read you live in Monkey County. I don’t envy you one bit at all and if you call 911 make sure the dispatcher is awake.
3rd ritchest county in the United States. I’m going to pretend that what you wrote was not totally racist (and wrong!)
You didn’t hear about the 911 dispatcher that fell asleep?
http://www.wtop.com/?nid=41&sid=2873997
And Montgomery County is the 12th richest and has not been number 3 in a very long time. I lived in Montgomery County in the 80’s and 90’s and still have a lot of friends in the area. It is nice to visit for about a week then I’m ready to head back to Maine.
As for calling it Monkey County it has nothing to do with race. You just have a bunch of monkeys in government running the place.
What will I do with my cat litter?
http://www.drsfostersmith.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=20976
If you think the problems that government makes are bad, wait ’till you see their solutions.
Hawaii has just done it, why can’t we?
http://travel.usatoday.com/destinations/dispatches/post/2012/05/hawaii-will-be-first-state-to-ban-plastic-bags/695601/1
So that makes it fine & dandy?
What’s you solution to plastic litter problem? Or are you just paid by the comments?
I think they are suggesting that it IS indeed possible. No need to attack.
In the most heavily forested State in the union which has papermaking as a backbone industry it makes sense to promote the use of [naturally biodegradable] paper-based packaging and distribution over the use of oil-based plastics for retail packaging.
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What about people like me who save the plastic bags to reuse them for things? And why can’t more people just save the bags and put them in the recycle center inside wal-mart to be reused if they are not going to reuse them?
How about he spends his time organizing a cleanup with people to go pick up all these plastic bags and cigarette butts etc.?
If the youngster is willing to eliminate the use of plastic in her life, she might have some ground to stand on in her quest to force other people to not use plastic products.
“Re-usable” bags are not hygienic.
Don’t do it.
This is a really stupid idea, it’s annoying as heck, and wastes people’s time.
Everywhere these bans have gone into place, you end up having to buy a MUCH more expensive “re-usable” bag.
It’s also remarkably hypocritical. Plastic water bottles have a far, far greater negative impact on the environment. This is a stupid “feel-good” move that accomplishes very little good, and makes a LOT of people sick.
A quick lit search indicates that you would have to use your canvas bag over a hundred times to be better off than using plastic; over 300 times to beat plastic that is reused as lunch bags/trash liners/etc. Possible, but unlikely for someone like me who cant own nice things smaller than a microwave because he’ll lose them.
This is another great new Uber Liberal idea! I do my own shopping and can state with certainty that upwards of 45 out of fifty of my plastic bags are put to a second use in my home OR recycled at the grocery store or Walmart the only ones which aren’t were soiled and go into the garbage, I don’t believe that I have ever discarded one into the environment.
I have a great idea of my own. It has been suggested a 5 cent fee be charged for each bag used, I propose a 10 cent deposit which could be collected by returning the bags including moderately soiled ones. With this system I would never discard one to the garbage.
We also re-use or recycle our plastic bags…I see alot of trash around and bags aren’t the problem…The problem is 2-3 dollars a bag to dump trash and even higher amounts to get rid of other stuff…The layabouts aren’t gonna waste their beer and cig money on their EBT on trash…It gets tossed EVERYWHERE..Enough savings could be found by consoladating town dumps to make it free again , but Nooo, every town has it’s own fiefdom…Maine needs to get out of the 18th century…Having to cashier at times at my job in Walmart I see ALOT of re-usable bags…Some are so bad I almost gag and have to shut down and wash my belt after having them on it…..YUCK!!!!
I agree that we have to deal with the plastic waste issue. How can we be serious about animal habitat protection, renewable resources for our aquatic wildlife – if we fail to get a handle on the pollutants that spoil their natural habitat. It’s a food chain problem. I suggest you take some time to do the homework – watch “Bag It” a documentary on NetFlix – the facts are thought provoking. And this plastic doesn’t go away – it disintegrates into tiny pieces and becomes a permanent factor in the food chain. The petroleum products also cause health factors such as autism, gender neutralism in children, cystic ovary disease, etc. It’s not a small problem. Please, if you are an educator or a parent, take the time to watch “Bag It” – it’s important.