I had made a purchase at Dollar General the other day. The cashier asked if I would like a bag. I had momentarily forgotten about the single –use-plastic ban that had been ordered just over a year ago.
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Dollar
General gave out yellow bags before the end of 2019. Recyclable gray ones were ordered. They are not as appealing to the eye – nor do they fold
over to line the trash can properly. But
they are definitely sturdier. Five or
ten cents per bag is still less than a state tax would be.
I
get why it was ordered. There are so
many people who are concerned about the environment and will properly dispose
of trash. There are just as many who are
careless – some who just
let things fall where they land and don’t bother with disposal. Sometimes the litter is accidental – like when the
wind blows and carries said item away. I
honestly have seen more masks littering the parking lots and streets than I
have plastic bags or straws. But I’ve had firsthand
experience with the plastic bag issues.
Newborns
are placed in car seats that face the rear of the car. Today there are periscopes and cameras to
check on the child but is still not made available to all who have
children. If that did indeed exist sixteen years ago when Jenna was in that kind of car
seat, it wouldn’t have been
affordable to us as I imagine with many others who have children.
I
had run some errands and had allowed the front windows down far enough to
create a circulation but not so far down that it would affect Jenna – at least not
directly. Evidently there was enough air
to blow a plastic bag onto her face. She
wasn’t harmed,
thank goodness, but could have been if the car ride had been longer.
Plastics
pollute more than just the ocean. I know some people felt inconvenienced and
all too many seem to be upset with Kate Brown and some of her choices. But then COVID hit and I don’t think a lot
of people even considered the plastic ban as COVID is still a hot topic and
thus everything in 2020 seemed to center around the disease or fire conditions
and placing those that had become homeless due to the elements.
There
are still so many who seem to have it out for Kate Brown and the decisions that
were made. She had run under the
democratic party but it was my understanding that it was the Republican party
(or at least some of those who had been represented or claimed to be
Republican) had campaigned to keep her on – though her name was not on the last
ballot and so I don’t know what
that was all about.
It’s not like any
politician has had a course in how to handle a worldwide pandemic. I have no issues with Kate Brown or her
policies. I think she is doing the best
she can for the welfare of most everybody involved. I would not have her job for anything.
