Students and staff share their thoughts on the potential retail ban of plastic bags
In an effort to make Washington more eco-friendly, a new bill titled the Plastic Bag Bill has been passed by the Washington State Senate and is in the process of being reviewed by the Washington State House of Representatives. According to the Washington House bill analysis, the effect would “prohibit retailers from providing carryout bags, for free or for charge, to consumers unless the bags are either compostable plastic carryout bags, recyclable paper carryout bags, or reusable carryout bags.” VanCougs shared their thoughts on if they think the new bill should be passed and its potential impact on the environment.
“I think it’s totally relevant. I am a supporter of it and I think that it was kind of overdue. I know a lot of people who were upset about it but I’ve also been really conscious of my bag usage for years now… I just like to always have a reusable bag at all times. I basically have given enough pressure to my parents too where they use reusable bags as well. It’s kind of like a ripple effect.” – Samantha Magaña, Strategic Communications
(Sydnie Kobza/The VanCougar)
“Sure, I think so. They do that in Italy, they either make you buy the bags, like you have to ask for them so that they give you so many, or you bring your own so that disincentivizes just wasting plastic. I don’t think it’s a big [effect] but it shouldn’t matter right? I think it’s a small step in the right direction.” – Alexander Duffield, English
(Sydnie Kobza/The VanCougar)
“I don’t see why not. I know a lot of other states are doing it and I just bring my own bags anyways to eliminate waste… I think it’s more just a step forward I would say.” – Victoria Linvstrom, Psychology
(Sydnie Kobza/The VanCougar)
“Yeah I think it’s a really important step. I think that we have to stop treating plastic like it’s something we can freely run through. It obviously has catastrophic effects on ocean life and the problem of microscopic particles of plastic that are just ubiquitous in the natural world and in human bodies now, has to be tackled… I think it’s a really important step. We just all have to get used to carrying around our own bags.” – Desiree Hellegers, English Professor
(Photo by The Columbian)
It seemed as though students were uninformed of the proposed legislation. Several students did however, seem to agree that the ban of plastic bags could improve the environment. In the eyes of VanCougs, banning the use of plastic bags at retail locations in Washington is a small change that could potentially ignite even bigger ones.
Emily is a senior studying integrated strategic communication at WSU Vancouver.