mental reasons and thought that Barrington could lead the way .
“ We aren ’ t going to solve any environmental problem in a town of 17,000 ....” she says . “ But it ’ s something very doable at a municipal level .”
Then-councilman Bill DeWitt was the lone skeptic .
“ It ’ s a nice thing to say we did it ,” he says . “ At the end of the day , I ’ m not sure we ’ ve helped the environment . The replacements — paper bags and reusable bags — they each have their own set of environmental issues . We needed more conversation .”
What appears beyond debate : As litter , plastic bags are harmful in the environment . Plastic photo-degrades , meaning that exposure to light breaks it down into tiny pieces . The Algalita Marine Research Institute based in Long Beach , California , draws water samples from oceans all over the globe and analyzes them for plastic content . The Great Pacific Garbage Patch — an accumulation of mostly land-based plastic debris borne by the currents into the North Pacific Subtropical Gyre — has gained currency as a dramatic symbol of plastic pollution .
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What ’ s more worrisome , says Algalita Executive Director Marieta Francis , are what ocean water samples reveal .
“ Plastic is dispersed all over the surface of the ocean ,” says Francis . “ We ’ ve been sampling since 1999 and it isn ’ t getting any better . We had one particular sample that contained six times more plastic than zooplankton .”
The plastics industry argues that the alternatives — paper and reusable bags — are worse . Plastic bags take up less space in landfills , use less oil in production and
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28 RHODE ISLAND MONTHLY l MARCH 2021