Editor’s note: This is an opinion piece by a student in Write About Now, a partnership between cleveland.com and the non-profit Lake Erie Ink, to nurture teen writers. The program was created to honor late cleveland.com writer Nikki Delamotte, who volunteered at Lake Erie Ink. In the Write About Now program, reporters and editors work with students to publish a story of their choice.
STRONGSVILLE, Ohio -- In Cuyahoga County, the plastic bag ban has been a hot topic. A few cities such as Lakewood and Euclid have decided to follow it, while many have opted out.
Strongsville City Council decided to opt out of the ban in January. This means that when other cities in Cuyahoga County are enforcing the ban -- which will be delayed because of the coronavirus, Strongsville shoppers will not have to comply.
Strongsville City Council is trying to come up with their own plan to tackle the problem of single-use plastic bags in their own time. On the city’s website, Economic Development Director Brent Painter said: “We'll be meeting with the retail community to review the current practices and talk about innovative options for the future.”
I spoke with Strongsville city councilman John Kaminski. He said that while council members are pro recycling, he and other members didn’t believe banning plastic bags was the right move at the time, and they are currently coming up with a better solution for the city.
Kaminski also said that leaders will be working with businesses in Strongsville to develop solutions that are best for them. Currently, they have not come up with any solutions.
But this explanation doesn’t carry weight with me (pun intended). My question is, why are so many communities in Northeast Ohio more worried about the short-term impacts on businesses than the long-term effects of plastic bag use on our country’s environment?
A standard single-use plastic bag can take up to 20 years to break down. The production of plastic materials requires non-renewable resources including fossil fuels. As a community, we need to start focusing on the long term effects of plastic bag use and take the steps necessary to adopt more sustainable, healthier solutions.
Businesses are already starting to adapt on their own, showing that change is possible. Until the coronavirus crisis, Giant Eagle voluntarily removed plastic bags from stores around Cuyahoga County.
The plastic bag ban affects young consumers like me more than older consumers because we’re the ones who will be here in 40 years. In more ways than not, our voices are important. So, what do these young consumers think?
Adrianna Kostyack, a student at Strongsville High School, says she believes that we should be taking bigger steps to help the environment. “I get that we do recycling and that kind of thing, but I think it's time that we start working a little harder,” she told me.
Delia Guzic, a resident of Strongsville, mentioned how Strongsville City Council is more concerned with the convenience of businesses rather than what is better for our environment. “I feel like the decision was mainly because using plastic bags is cheaper than using paper bags, instead of focusing on what’s better for the environment,” she said.
New York, California, and Oregon have all issued plastic bag bans, businesses have adapted to accommodate it. According to NBC News, in Los Angeles the average grocery store went from using 2.2 million plastic bags to 125,000 plastic bags after putting a 10-cent ordinance in place.
If some states are issuing a statewide ban without experiencing negative effects on retailers, why can’t we?
Emma Petrus is a student at Lake Ridge Academy.
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April 24, 2020 at 10:39PM
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Strongsville should honor Cuyahoga County’s plastic bag ban (Opinion) - cleveland.com
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