Austin should not ban plastic bags, this is officially the most intrusive piece of legislation to come out of Texas government in my lifetime.
The bag ban is the most ridiculous social tax I have ever seen because some people reuse the grocery bags for trash cans in bathrooms and kitchen, they honestly have all sort of use. If the city of Austin want us to use reusable bags they should at least supply them for free. I don't like grocery shopping as it is and now it's hard to carry all the things in just one bag! Plus reusable bags are unsanitary because of all those germs wind up where your bag us set when you are checking out, most reusable bag shoppers do not wash their bags once they return home may be leading to food poisoning, that's why I prefer plastic bags over reusable because I value my personal health.
People say "it's okay to save the world" but there are millions of things we can do that are more effective and less inconvenient than a bag ban. It honestly has a big effect in our daily lives. Give people a choice to respond as to whether they want to switch to reusable bags or not, not labeling them as caring about the environment or not. There are many reasons why people may or may not use reusable bags, that have nothing to do with whether they care about the environment. The bag ban is going to be overturned either by the legislature, or by a citizen initiative. It needs to be repealed.
I agree with Helen’s point that plastic ban in Austin is a ridiculous law from the Austin City Council. I am a supporter of green environment but I do not see any point how banning plastic bag only in Austin will save the environment when it is not banned outside Austin city limit such as in Cedar Park, Round Rock. As a result, it does not serve the intended purpose when People living in Austin can shop just outside the city limit with plastic bags. Thus, the plastic bag ban in Austin should be repealed.
ReplyDeleteThis is a reply to an article in my classmates blog Just Like A Texan. This article was written about a bill that recently passed which banned the use of singles use plastic bags in Austin,Texas. Let me begin by saying that I could not agree more with my classmate on this subject. This is the single most ridiculous thing I have every heard of and not to mention extremely inconvenient. There's nothing worse than those two seconds right after you walk into the grocery store and realize you forgot those horrible tarp bags again. Some cities have done bans on water bottles- even though I would not support it, I can see the point. We should be taking steps to help preserve what we have, but i believe plastic bags are a baby step in the wrong direction
ReplyDeleteI think the governments intent of decreasing plastic waste by banning plastic bags is good although many do believe that is not their real intent. I myself have been using reusable bags for about a year and a half and have become accustomed to it. I started using them because I would really give no other use to plastic bags besides piling them up in my kitchen drawer.
ReplyDeleteHowever, most of my friends and family do use them for other various things around the house. I’m pretty sure many people do not use reuse them and just end up throwing them away. I agree with you on how it’s really not fair to label people as if they do not care about the environment just for the fact of using plastic bags. I also agree on the danger of cross-contamination that could result from unsanitary conditions that people have their bags in.
I believe the government should not ban them entirely, but rather encourage and promote the use of reusable bags. HEB has just recently been offering one free re-usable bag in exchange for 5 plastic bags. That’s an okay incentive, but they can do better by maybe giving discounts or something. I guess I’m not really for the bag ban, but I’m not against either because it’s not really affecting me. If they do remove it they should still give incentives to those who choose to use reusable bags. I understand it’s hard for some people, but I see it as a beneficial habit to develop.