Whole Foods Market
recently instituted a
nationwide program of
reusing bags while eliminating disposable
plastic bags. Their goal is to
fully dispose of these plastic bags by
Earth Day this year.
This trend is not unique to
Whole Foods. The Chinese government
passed a law banning free
plastic bags countrywide in June,
while the San Francisco Board of
Supervisors approved a ban on the
use of plastic bags in large supermarkets
and pharmacies. Other
methods suggested nationally
including a tax or surcharge for the
use of plastic bags.
Disposable plastic bags pose a
great threat to the environment. They
fill landfills without quickly breaking
down, and their eventual breakdown
releases toxins into the environment.
Discarding these bags as litter further
endangers the environment.
Also of importance is the nearly
430 million gallons of crude oil
needed to produce the bags used in
the United States each year.
UW-Madison has the opportunity
to take another step forward
in its “WE CONSERVE”
program by eliminating the use of
plastic bags in university-affiliated
stores. University Bookstore and
Underground Textbook Exchange
should follow suit.
Substitutions can range from
anything to recyclable paper bags
or reusable canvas bags—a popular
option for environmentally
savvy shoppers. Students purchasing
books could also simply utilize
their book bags. The short walk
from the cashier to the locker is
worth the savings.
Rather than facilitating a common
problem, UW-Madison has
the opportunity to be an ambassador
of change for raising environmental
awareness.
Although international efforts
to ban plastic bags exist, there is
still not enough awareness to warrant
change. UW-Madison can take
that step and inform the student
body of the problems plastic bags
pose through their own removal
of the bags from their inventory.
The problem is significant while
the solution is easy: UW-Madison
needs to take the next step in conservation
and ban the use of plastic
bags in its stores.
Disposable plastic bags fill
landfills without quickly breaking
down, and their eventual
breakdown releases toxins
into the environment.
