In response to the Chinese ban of purchasing foreign recyclables, Great Britain plans to eliminate avoidable waste within 25 years. As a first step, Prime Minister Theresa May urged supermarkets to introduce plastic-free aisles with loose, unpackaged food. The European Union is proposing a tax on plastic bags and packaging because of the Chinese garbage ban and the condition of the oceans where plastic is piling up.
Because plastic is practically indestructible and has a long lifespan, the plastic pollution problem will likely be with us for a long time to come. According to the “PBS NewsHour,” more than nine billion metric tons of plastic has been produced since 1950—a weight equivalent to 27,000 Empire State Buildings or more than a billion elephants. Plastic fibers have even worked their way into tap water. The Guardian reports that 83% of tap water tested in a recent study contains plastic fibers. According to the Guardian article, “The U.S. had the highest contamination rate, at 94%, with plastic fibers found in tap water sampled at sites including congressional buildings, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s headquarters and Trump Tower in New York City. Lebanon and India had the next-highest rates.”
In 2016, Wisconsin enacted legislation to prohibit local governments from banning plastic bags. No Wisconsin municipality had actually done this, and the law was enacted proactively to ensure none adopts them. Wisconsin is one of about 10 states that have enacted such legislation based upon model legislation proposed by the rightwing American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).
