The Plastic Bag Debate

Recently Toronto city council voted to ban plastic bags some time next year (it could be January first, or June first--I am not really concerned with the date)  It was covered by all the major newspapers and found its way onto the local news for several days running.

I don't live in Toronto, so most people would argue that I shouldn't really think about it.  True, except that when Toronto passed a by-law requiring all stores to charge for plastic bags, it quickly became store policy.  So pervasive was this that most store clerks thought it was the law in the province, rather than store policy.  So, if this happens in Toronto, it is likely to be adopted by all stores province wide.

As for me, I don't really understand the resistance to the idea.  I remember when we didn't have plastic bags, and things worked out fine.  The only time there was any trouble was on sitcoms, where the main character had to struggle in the door with multiple bags, leaking fluids, fumbling with keys while the phone rang.  These days, they would just let it go to voicemail, and I would hope that you could put down your bags while you are opening the door.

I have embraced that bring your own bag to the supermarket, and so it seems have quite a few others,  It was difficult at first, but I always have some of the bags in the car.  When I am planning on going to the store I always manage to bring them with me.  If I forget, or don't have enough, I am sure paper will do. 

I realize that plastic is convenient, but I don't recall the last time someone tried to tell me that plastic was good for the environment. (though people are still debating global warming, it seems that we've all accepted that plastic will never go away)  Most people seem to have embraced the blue box concept.  Maybe a sensible first step is to force the blue box program to accept plastic bags......

I am prepared to lug paper bags home (or at least to the trunk of my car) and I am sure I will soon see bundle buggies full of paper bags being hauled across town.  Will the plastic bag go the way of the dinosaur?  Since the dinosaurs became oil, and oil gave us plastic, it seems only fitting.