Leo
Michael, Special to Waste & Recycling News The libertarian blood that flows inside every American – even if it’s just a few drops – should start simmering whenever any lawmaker proposes a “ban.”
Prohibitions are, by definition, limits on behavior, cuts in freedom. They are government decrees that forbid adults from certain things and certain activities.
That’s not to say that all bans are bad. Life is arguably better without loud music on the street at 2 a.m., cigarette smoke in restaurants or drivers texting at 65 mph.
But plastic bags?
Now it gets dicey.
We continue to struggle with where we stand on plastic bag bans. We love the convenience of them, their low cost and their many uses – or, better yet, their many reuses. We see how businesses and customers benefit from cheap, strong plastic bags.
At the same time, we shake our heads and curse the littering fools when we see one fluttering in the branches.
Bans should be a last resort, implemented after efforts to educate consumers, encourage and expand recycling, and introduce reusable bags all fail
Bag bans have lawmakers in Illinois fired up, too. Not without a little irony, they are fighting back against bans with – what else? – a ban.
Reporter Jeremy Carroll tells us in this issue of Waste & Recycling News that legislation banning plastic bag bans has passed both state houses and awaits the governor’s signature.
You read that right, a ban on bans.
What’s next, the other side countering with a ban on ban bans?
Instead of rushing to pass a prohibition, or a law that prohibits a prohibition, it’s time for activists and lawmakers to step out of the regulatory rubber room.
Because right now, good sense and sanity seem to be sharing the inside of another single-use sack: a body bag.
w w w . w a s t e r e c y c l i n g n e w s . c o m
copyright 2012 by Crain Communications Inc. All rights reserved.