Instead of Banning Single Use Plastic Bags ,Lets just Stop Using Them

the staff of the Ridgewood blog

Ridgewood NJ, banning single use plastic bags is the latest cause celeb , but does it really impact the environment ? Many residents in the Village seem to support the ban often citing the curtailment of trash .

The Ridgewood blog has often criticized the garbage buildup in local parks, but feels very uncomfortable with government imposed bans, like the cigarette ban ,that has been used to justify banning every thing from soda to straws. Blanket bans seldom are effective and often lead to unforeseen consequences . Do you really want your fresh salmon wrapped in newspaper ? Or like the banning of Styrofoam ,leads to more use of the far worse coated paper.

At the latest council meeting many proponents voiced the idea that resident behavior could be modified with a ban and that people would quickly grow used to the idea.

We suggest a different route , perhaps behavior could be modified by peer pressure ,education, and responsible action . Simply put everyone should just start bringing reusable bags . Send the kids to school with them, shop with them , carry them in your car . Many in the Village already do it . maybe its time for everyone including shop owners to push the idea that its just the right thing to do .

We already have far to many rules in New Jersey, and lets face it they are not working . New Jersey with all the talk and the taxes still has the most Superfund sites in the USA , lousy roads, and a poor quality of life and all the rules and bans have not gotten us anywhere except for the state that most people want to flee .