Creativity, Convenience and plastic "spills"

Most of us agree that single-use plastic shopping bags are a convenience as well as a nuisance.  Small Planet is always on the look out for more creative options for you-- currently in stock we have shopping bags made from recycled juice bags, from cotton, from fabric ends and re-purposed fabric, and from recycled billboards.  Those are just the bags, don't even get me started on the carrying baskets.  But single-use bags are still the norm for many shopping experiences and each day contribute to the environmental degradation of the planet.

Plastic bags are made from petroleum.  They are made far away and travel around the world prior to use.  They don't hold much and are prone to ripping, and so more are used than needed.  They are hard to recycle and cause problems when recycled improperly.  They end up flying away and being swept to the water and out to the ocean.

Which takes us to the ocean.  It's not news that there is a massive amount of plastic caught in the currents out in the Pacific-- but that has been on my mind as the news of the gulf oil spill continues to make daily headlines.  See, that plastic "island" is a type of oil spill too-- plastic is petroleum in another form and it doesn't totally go away, but breaks down in to shiny bits that sea animals  and birds eat, or that simply turns the ocean into a toxic mess.

I understand that single-use bags are most convenient-- and I've been wondering lately if convenience doesn't often kill our more creative urges.  I know for myself that when I take the convenient route--whether it is with a shopping choice, a plan for my day with kids, or whatever, that the end result is way less interesting or fulfilling than when I get just a bit creative.

So this week Small Planet Trading is signing on to support Environment Oregon's Ban the Plastic Bag Campaign.  Check out their website for the nitty-gritty details.  I have heard all the alternative ideas- from incentives, to taxes, to letting the market find the solution and consumer advocacy -- all great ideas.  In the end, there will need to be parts of each of these ideas to get at the change that is needed.  So why a ban?  So we can say that the plastic spill in the ocean is unacceptable.  It's enough.  And to allow a space for the more creative options to come through.

Want to be a part of kicking off the campaign in Hood River?  Come on down to the shop of Thursday the 15th at 10:30 for a press conference and be a part of the change.  --DeLona