| Recently, a new city ordinance was put in place | | | | small amount of store-bought goods, they are |
| by Toronto in an effort to reduce waste in | | | | generally tossed into the trash can and forgotten |
| landfills, waste management and encourage | | | | about. But that isn't the end for the average |
| consumers to recycle. This ordinance requires all | | | | plastic shopping bag. The bag is dumped into the |
| shoppers to pay a 5 cents per bag fee whenever | | | | city trash collection, then into big piles that are |
| they make a purchase at area stores. This is an | | | | then dumped into landfills. The average lifespan of |
| attempt to encourage shoppers to bring their | | | | a plastic bag, depending on its design, is anywhere |
| own bags whenever they need to shop. | | | | from one to ten years, maybe more. So that |
| Recycling shopping bags to reduce landfill waste is | | | | momentary use ends up clogging up the earth for |
| not a new concept. It's something that consumers | | | | many years afterwards. |
| have had within their power to do for many | | | | And plastic bags are responsible for the injury and |
| years. The only thing that's changed is that it's | | | | death of wildlife and sea creatures. Plastic bags |
| never been enforced until now. Toronto's citizens | | | | pollute the ground, water ways, and oceans. They |
| are somewhat on the fence about this new | | | | drift in the wind and end up in trees where birds |
| ordinance. Some think it's a terrible injustice and | | | | can get stuck in them. They get ingested by |
| way for the government to milk more money | | | | animals who then either choke to death or get |
| out of them. Other consumers just think it's a | | | | strangled in them. Plastic bags eventually find their |
| smart idea to re-use shopping bags as a way of | | | | ways to the ocean where sea-life ingest them of |
| protecting the environment from further damage. | | | | become entangled in them. Plastic bags litter the |
| Whatever the case may be, many consumers | | | | roadways, parks, forests and anywhere else they |
| believe that this is just another sign of the times | | | | happen to end up. They are a nuisance and a |
| for this generation of more environmentally | | | | hazard to the environment anyway you look at it. |
| responsible consumers. People need a reminder | | | | So the city of Toronto decided to set an |
| every now and then of how their daily habits | | | | example for the rest of the world by making |
| impact the environment in a very real way. Just | | | | consumers stop and think about how many plastic |
| think of how the act of one person re-using their | | | | bags they are using in an average week. They |
| shopping bags could positively impact and reduce | | | | must pay that extra 5 cents per bag and every |
| the amount of waste dumped into landfills yearly? | | | | time they do they make that decision on whether |
| Now multiply that by the millions of inhabitants of | | | | or not they will pay for them the next time they |
| the city of Toronto and that benefit increases | | | | shop, or if they will bring their recycled bags along |
| exponentially. | | | | for future shopping trips. Perhaps we can learn a |
| Let's get back to basics to understand how and | | | | lot from this new law and start deciding if it's |
| why this ordinance was dreamed up in the first | | | | worth it to pay the extra or bring one from |
| place. Plastic bags are understood to be bad for | | | | home? |
| the environment. Once they are used to carry a | | | | |