photo by Sandrine Cassidy Schmitt
The Bag Monster got a little less scary on November 16th, when L.A. County Supervisors voted 3 to 1 to ban single-use plastic bags and charge 10¢ for paper bags in the unincorporated areas of Los Angeles County. They also approved an Environmental Impact Report encompassing the entire county, which will make it much easier for incorporated cities like Culver City to pass bans of their own. Culver City activists present at the hearing agreed to keep the pressure on the city to act swiftly on the matter. See Culver City News article for more.
(left to right) Transition Culver City co-organizer Meghan Sahli-Wells, Ballona Creek Renaissance president Jim Lamm, Heal the Bay program coordinator James Alamillo – photo by Sandrine Cassidy Schmitt
If you’re still weighing the convenience of seemingly “free” plastic bags against the hassle of remembering to bring your own reusable bags to the store, or feeling that you just can’t go without these bags for your trash liners, pet waste, or whatever, the facts listed by Heal the Bay will help you put this legislation into a wider context, and answer specific questions about the L.A. County ban.
What’s more… many have heard of the Great Pacific Garbage Patch (a.k.a. Gyre) – the enormous gathering of plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean. Did you know that there are 5 of these Garbage Gyres? 5!!!
Culver City resident Anna Cummins is currently trawling the South Atlantic Gyre to provide the science and education that proves that there is no “away” to throw things… Visit her fascinating website 5Gyres and follow her adventures on the 5Gyres blog.