Outright ban of plastic straws a must
Dear mayor and council:
It’s most heartening to see city council finally addressing the eco-scourge of plastic straws.
But merely curtailing their use just won’t go near far enough for me. An outright ban of straws, plus plastic bags and other unnecessary plastic such as packaging, is downright critical.
The stuff is choking our waste stream that’s shipped for some $3 million annually to a Washington State landfill.
Leaving plastic use to consumers’ decisions just isn’t working, which is why we have a global plastic crisis now. Local governments can and must act to change that.
National Geographic‘s cover story a year or so ago about plastic says the ubiquitous material remains intact for 400 years, perhaps forever.
Duncan council heard a great presentation from Bench school students more than a decade ago urging all Cowichan governments to ban plastic shopping bags.
Pupils’ timely idea was sadly passed to the CVRD board where it vanished.
I beg council again to take action now and ban plastics from stores, bars, bistros and elsewhere — starting with straws and bags — as many other progressive cities have already done.
Peter W. Rusland
North Cowichan
