The age-old question of “paper or plastic?” is out of fashion in Los Angeles, replaced by the quandary of whether to shell out an extra 10 cents for paper bags at the register.
Following the implementation of a long-debated ordinance, shoppers in the city of Los Angeles will no longer have access to plastic grocery bags in stores and will have to pay extra for paper bags.
This minor inconvenience was put into place to reduce waste in the Los Angeles area, as well as minimize the costs associated with the disposal of single-use plastic bags in the area. Both are worthy goals and well worth the small price and small inconvenience consumers will experience at the register.
The lack of widespread preparation and publicity before the ban was implemented, however, merits a directed effort on the part of UCLA students and administrators to adjust to the new reality of the ban. Now that the ban is law in Los Angeles, the UCLA community should take measures both to ease the transition into a post-plastic bag world and make it better known why it was a good step forward in the first place.
In particular, UCLA should channel its environmental efforts through Associated Students UCLA stores, which are moving away from offering plastic bags even though retail departments are not affected by the ordinance.
This above-and-beyond mentality is admirable but needs to be accompanied by an effort to encourage the transition for students.
ASUCLA has planned to replace its single-use plastic bags with single-use paper bags in all stores on campus, said Jordan Wong, a third-year international development studies student and undergraduate representative to the ASUCLA Board of Directors. Although this is a step in the right direction, there are currently not any plans to offer reusable canvas or plastic bags in ASUCLA stores.
What is necessary is a one-time effort to put reusable bags into the hands of students. Many retailers, such as the Ralph’s in Westwood, are distributing free, reusable bags (albeit with a minimum purchase required) to help consumers transition away from single-use bags. ASUCLA should follow this example.
The ban, and the effort to make it palatable to students, fits well with UCLA’s own environmental goals.
The UC is committed to a goal of zero waste to landfills by the year 2020. The plastic bag ban will serve as a significant step toward this goal as plastic bags are phased out of UCLA’s waste output.
Through educational signage in stores that once offered plastic bags and other forms of public service announcements, UCLA can remind students of the benefits that significantly outweigh the temporary inconvenience of needing to supply one’s own bag at the checkout counter. Doing so will make students more environmentally conscious, making them more inclined to be proactive in taking this step toward change.
Along with publicizing the benefits of reusable bags, ASUCLA should also remain aware of and educate the campus on issues that can arise with these sustainable options.
Plastic bag bans in other communities have resulted in claims of increased food-borne illness because of the reuse of bags carrying groceries with raw meats and fish.
Plastic bags have become ubiquitous in our generation, but they are a 20th-century invention. This means they were alien to our grandparents’ generation.
Clearly, then, a mindset in which reusable bags are the norm is within our reach, especially with some help by institutions such as UCLA along the way.