LETTERS TO THE EDITOR

Time is now to ban plastic bags

Posted

To the editor:

We have noticed that large plastic bags are being used to collect fallen leaves throughout New York City.

This is no longer an acceptable means of collection. The use of plastic garbage bags to collect leaves is harmful to our environment. As a society, we need to come up with an ecological alternative to plastic that is capable of doing the same job as the plastic bags without damaging the environment.

Plastic bags are not biodegradable. They remain in our environment for centuries clogging up our landfills and endangering marine life. Furthermore, plastic is made from fossil fuels and chemicals, contributing to the production of greenhouse gasses and the pollution of our ecosystem.

We can do better.

With Earth Day recently passed, it is important that we change these laws and regulations now. The New York state legislature recently instituted a ban on single-use plastic bags in the entire state for restaurants, grocery stores and department stores. Why should there not be a similar ban on non-compostable plastic bags used by the sanitation department to collect their fallen leaves?

We propose that an acceptable solution to this problem is the use of bio-based, compostable plastic bags by the city’s sanitation department to collect fallen leaves through the city.

Elsa Lindy
Ava Rodgers

Elsa Lindy, Ava Rodgers,

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