Another member of the Bush family is getting involved in a plastics-related issue. According to The New York Times' CityRoom blog, Lauren Bush, "a fashion model and niece of President Bush," has endorsed a New York City Council bill that would require supermarkets and retail stores to collect and recycle plastic carryout bags.
Ms. Bush, 23, appeared at the Whole Foods Market in the Lower East Side this morning with the City Council speaker, Christine C. Quinn, who supports the legislation, which was introduced last week by Councilman Peter F. Vallone Jr., a Queens Democrat. At a news conference, Ms. Bush, who graduated from Princeton last year, said her interest in plastic bags began about four years ago, when she learned about their impact on the environment. Ms. Bush told reporters:"The average American uses between 300 and 700 bags a year. To give you a visual of that number, if everyone in the U.S. were to make a giant chain with their plastic bag, it would wrap around the earth 760 times. That’s just the American annual consumption of plastic bags. And on top of that, plastic bags don’t biodegrade. They only break down into tiny toxic little bits that pollute the soil and our waterways. This process is called photodegrade and it takes around 1,000 years for these bags to break down in our landfills. It is for these reasons that I support this legislation in City Council. I think it is important for New Yorkers to recycle plastic bags and buy reusable bags."
The blog goes on to say that Lauren Bush promoted something called the FEED Bag, a reusable cloth bag that costs $60 and enables the United Nations World Food Program to feed a child for one full school year. Bush is an honorary spokeswoman for the program.
With Laura Bush (once again) speaking out on plastics and marine debris last week, it's starting to feel like the White House should have a cabinet-level appointee to handle plastics issues.
Comments (1)
This topic has been tackle here in the Halton Region in Ontario Canada...this is the news article from the Local Burlington Post community paper....I, for one, applaud this.
There'll be a lot less plastic heading to the landfill now that the region
has officially launched its Take it Back Halton program.
The initiative, which was kicked off Wednesday morning at the Halton
Regional Centre in Oakville, allows residents to return household items
that they would usually throw out to their point of purchase to be reused,
recycled or disposed of in an environmentally safe way. The first
acceptable item for the program is plastic shopping bags, which can now be
returned to various stores throughout Halton for recycling.
"To all the partners of the Take it Back Halton program -- thank you for
your vision and leadership in helping to improve our environment," said
Regional Chair Gary Carr. "I know it is a great example of co-operation
between government and business."
He noted the program, which is part of the region's 2006-2010 Solid Waste
Management Strategy, will enhance extended producer responsibility of
waste materials and reduce waste going to the landfill.
"It is because of programs like these that we are able to extend the life
of our landfill," Carr said.
Halton Director of Waste Management Rob Rivers said as the program moves
forward other products will be included such as cellphones, eyeglasses,
oil filters and rechargeable batteries.
Plastic bags can be taken to A&P, Dominion, Food Basics, Fortinos, Home
Outfitters, Loblaws, Longos, Price Chopper, Real Canadian Superstore,
Sobeys, The Barn Fruit Markets, The Bay, Ultra Food and Drug, Wal-Mart,
Whole Foods Market and Zellers locations in Halton and deposited in a
specially-marked recycling bin.
The Canadian Council of Grocery Distributors and the Environment and
Plastics Industry Council/ Canadian Plastic Industry Association are also
partners of the program.
For more information visit www.halton.ca/takeitback.
Posted by Brian Davis | November 15, 2007 3:55 PM
Posted on November 15, 2007 15:55