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Marin is known as a green county, full of educated and passionate people. We care for the environment and love to make it known. Marin has taken many impressive steps towards a green tomorrow, but there are still more steps to take. The first being banning single use plastics. Humans have let plastic rule our lives for much too long. You can find plastic in any store or corner of your home. While this ban wouldn’t restrict all plastic it would help phase out the most harmful kind: single use plastics. Single use plastics are especially harmful because they are created, used, then thrown away in quick succession. Noble efforts have been made to reduce plastic use by individuals, but that’s not enough. While using metal straws is a step in the right direction there are bigger things that can be done in addition to individual action. Stopping plastic at its source is the only way for our society to escape from its harmful grip. Corporations depend on consumers. As long as we keep showing them our support, they will keep churning out cheap, harmful plastics in mass quantities. An avalanche starts with just one pebble, and Marin could be that pebble. We could help lead other counties across not only California, but the entire United States to a world free of plastic litter. The first plastic was created in 1907, that’s only 113 years ago! We lived a long time without plastic, and we can do it again. Some people may still have their doubts about the success of plastic bans, but a 2019 article by Anthropocene Magazine found that in cities with plastic bag bans, less plastic pollution was found in surrounding nature (Roy, 2018). This is incredibly important to a place as beautiful as Marin. Plastics are easily littered or blown off of trash cans into forests and waterways. Marin is full of lush hills with magnificent trees, rushing creeks connecting towns to nature, and beautiful beaches in nearly every direction. It’s such a shame to see plastic flowthrough our creeks and out to the ocean. Marin has always had a deep love for the environment. We take care of our community’s beauty faithfully. A plastic ban is only the next step towards a better tomorrow for beautiful Marin county.
An important distinction to make about this plastic ban is that it is not a ban of all plastics, just single use. The primary focus of the ordinance is to increase sustainability and move towards a zero-waste future. However, this isn’t to say that all plastics should be outlawed completely. There are
and we can do it again. Some people may still have their doubts about the success of plastic bans, but a 2019 article by Anthropocene Magazine found that in cities with plastic bag bans, less plastic pollution was found in surrounding nature (Roy, 2018). This is incredibly important to a place as beautiful as Marin. Plastics are easily littered or blown off of trash cans into forests and waterways. Marin is full of lush hills with magnificent trees, rushing creeks connecting towns to nature, and beautiful beaches in nearly every direction. It’s such a shame to see plastic flow through our creeks and out to the ocean. Marin has always had a deep love for the environment. We take care of our community’s beauty faithfully. A plastic ban is only the next step towards a better tomorrow for beautiful Marin county.
An important distinction to make about this plastic ban is that it is not a ban of all plastics, just single use. The primary focus of the ordinance is to increase sustainability and move towards a zero-waste future. However, this isn’t to say that all plastics should be outlawed completely. There are
Why you should show your support