Article #3: 10/5/12
Matt Richtel. "Paper or Plastic? Some Communities Say Neither."The New York Times, September 28, 2012
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/09/29/business/energy-environment/communities-curb-use-of-paper-and-plastic-shopping-bags.html
Topic in Environmental Science: Energy Conservation
Bill Hoffman owns Aptos Jewelers in Aptos, California. Even though the jewelry he sells are already extremely expensive, he charges customers 10 cents more for a shopping bag. More than 24 cities in California have made it a law that grocery stores, pharmacies and other retailers cannot use plastic shopping bags anymore. If the customers want a bag then they have to charge them 5 or 10 cents for paper bags. This law was made to make people not want to use plastic/paper bags and encourage them to use reusable bags instead. There has also been a push for banning plastic bags. Ever since the District of Columbia started a 5 cent charge for paper and plastic 2 years ago, places across the US have been following this example. Bill Hoffman disagrees with this law because he believes it's wrong to ask someone to pay 10 cents on a bag when they've just bought jewelry for 10,000. However, the consequence for not following the law is a fine of up to $500. The District of Columbia has reported seeing an increase in the use of reusable bags but that people are not happy about it. There has also been talk of how resuable bags are not safe if not properly cleaned after each use. People are doing things such as carrying their groceries by hand and even driving out of their city just to avoid paying.
The main reason i chose this article was because the title caught my attention. After reading the article I actually agree and think that this policy should be enforced throughout the country and that reusable bags should be used by everyone. The amount of plastic and paper we use could be reduced significantly and that will benefit us in the future even if we can't see results now. I also believe that the issue regarding how reusable bags are not safe or clean could easily be solved by just washing the bags. It was also surprising to hear how people are even shopping outside of their city just to avoid paying for the bags.
Topic in Environmental Science: Energy Conservation
Bill Hoffman owns Aptos Jewelers in Aptos, California. Even though the jewelry he sells are already extremely expensive, he charges customers 10 cents more for a shopping bag. More than 24 cities in California have made it a law that grocery stores, pharmacies and other retailers cannot use plastic shopping bags anymore. If the customers want a bag then they have to charge them 5 or 10 cents for paper bags. This law was made to make people not want to use plastic/paper bags and encourage them to use reusable bags instead. There has also been a push for banning plastic bags. Ever since the District of Columbia started a 5 cent charge for paper and plastic 2 years ago, places across the US have been following this example. Bill Hoffman disagrees with this law because he believes it's wrong to ask someone to pay 10 cents on a bag when they've just bought jewelry for 10,000. However, the consequence for not following the law is a fine of up to $500. The District of Columbia has reported seeing an increase in the use of reusable bags but that people are not happy about it. There has also been talk of how resuable bags are not safe if not properly cleaned after each use. People are doing things such as carrying their groceries by hand and even driving out of their city just to avoid paying.
The main reason i chose this article was because the title caught my attention. After reading the article I actually agree and think that this policy should be enforced throughout the country and that reusable bags should be used by everyone. The amount of plastic and paper we use could be reduced significantly and that will benefit us in the future even if we can't see results now. I also believe that the issue regarding how reusable bags are not safe or clean could easily be solved by just washing the bags. It was also surprising to hear how people are even shopping outside of their city just to avoid paying for the bags.