Do you remember the plastic bag scene in the movie American Beauty? It was a testament to the script writer and cinematographer that something which is a blight on the landscape was protrayed as a thing of beauty.
The truth is that hundreds of millions of plastic bags are distributed daily around the world and while they are used on average about 20 minutes they take 400 years to decompose. When Toronto City Council made the decision to ban the use of plastic bags beginning January 2013 a lot of people were caught off guard, including retailers. One commented that he is environmentally conscious and uses alternatives wherever possible his products require a non-permeable package. He says he will usuable compostable plastic bags and take the risk of a fine.I'm not convinced that this was a well considered decision and the irony is that the the five-cent bag fee which was eliminated was effective, reducing the number of bags in landfill by about fifty percent. Still, many other jurisdictions have made the same decision, including Los Angeles during the same week. The nation of Italy has banned plastic bags except the biodegradable kind, eliminating 20 billion per year.
The use of plastic may not seem like a very spiritual issue, but it is one of the biggest planetary pollution problems we face so it is a matter of Creation Care. Come to think of it, Jesus and his posse didn't get asked "plastic or paper?" because neither existed. At Bay of Quinte Conference this year I joked with the person in front of me in the line at the book room that we have now become hoarders of the cloth bags everyone gives us, replacing the drawers stuffed with plastic.
The use of plastic may not seem like a very spiritual issue, but it is one of the biggest planetary pollution problems we face so it is a matter of Creation Care. Come to think of it, Jesus and his posse didn't get asked "plastic or paper?" because neither existed. At Bay of Quinte Conference this year I joked with the person in front of me in the line at the book room that we have now become hoarders of the cloth bags everyone gives us, replacing the drawers stuffed with plastic.
Do you agree with Toronto mayor Rob Ford that this was "the dumbest thing council has done" or is it a good idea? Have you reduced your use of plastic bags over time? Do you connect your choices with your faith?
4 comments:
Rob Ford should not be talking about what is dumb. He should just look in the mirror. He has as much concern about the environment as I have about Luka Magnotta.
I'm pretty sure life can go on without plastic bags. As you state, other places have banned plastic bags and, to my knowledge, there have been no riots in the streets.
Watching people being interviewed and whining about the ban, it makes me think that we have become a society of wimps. Everything needs to be easy - the drive-thru, ATM's, etc. People get upset when there are any challenges in life.
I think we can face the challenge of no plastic bags head on if we just remember that rather than focus on our own little world and having things easy, we remember there is a bigger picture on which to focus: our planet.
I agree with Roger about the whining and failing to see the big picture. Part of the problem is the process by which this came about.
Most initiatives like this that aim to change behaviour and impose retrictions require public education and groundwork to be laid in order to be accepted by the majority. Seat belts, drinking and driving and smoking in public places and cars are examples. Then there needs to be negotiating, and listening to affected parties so that the legislation can be well-written. I'm sad to see what is a good idea have been passed quickly without the steps. It will be resisted now by a lot of people who may have accepted it under the above circumstances.
1. No I do not agree with Rob Ford on this issue or many other issues in which his opinion is involved.
2. My plastic bag consumption has dropped drastically. I started years ago with an LCBO cloth bag which I used for groceries before the stores were selling them. Then that bag got filthy and lost so I had a billion of my own plastic bags within a few years. Now that the stores sell reusable bags we own many and have them in both vehicles. We hardly ever get plastic...and when we do they get used to clean up after the dog.
3. These choices are certainly connected to faith. The problem I see is that the garbage we create is not life threatening....at least not in our part of the world.....and not in our lifetimes. People understand the impact of seatbelts and smoking because they've seen others die from those choices. The choice to avoid plastic means we are thinking further into the future - beyond our lifetimes. That type of thinking involves faith in all of humankind to work together to better our existence and to me that is love.
Thank you for all these responses. They were all thoughtful and added to the conversation. I hope that other readers will read them as well. Even though they take somewhat different approaches they contribute to each other. This is the satsifying aspect of blogging!
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