Are we making any inroads toward the elimination of single use plastics?

Entire state’s are banning the use of some single-use plastic things. It’s early yet, but it’s a start. Peer pressure is probably having little to no effect, but making it inconvenient or expensive (there is a ten cent tax on single use plastic bags now in CT) is probably starting to make a difference.

Not really. At least in Georgia.

I went to the grocery store today – came back with 4 single-use plastic bags.

Went to lunch with by daughter, (nice restaurant in Athens GA – happy to recommend it if anyone is going to be in Athens) – anyway, it’s a college town so I figured they would more sensitive to environmental needs.

But no, a single use plastic straw was provided.

on my soapbox Even the environmentalist crowd admits that there’s nothing inherently wrong with a single use straw. And their reasoning – that single use straws harm ocean life in the Pacific and Atlantic – is sort of irrelevant when Athens is 200+ miles from the coast.

Read some facts Straws are far from the worst single-use polluter.

But the anti-straw policy is an easy and cheap one for corporate America to support, at little or now cost to themselves. That’s why there is an anti-straw push. Cheap publicity for corporations.

Well, yes and no. It may not be the biggest plastic polluter, but we still need to get rid of them. The worst thing about straws is they go right through the recycling balers. So even if people recyle them, the baler just spits them out.

Depends on the area really. My city just banned single use plastic store bags last year. and promote you to bring your own reusable bags. I am all for it. I also got my own reusable metal straws too. I think we keep heading in the right direction, even if slowly.