Paper or Plastic?

What’s this about banning plastic bags? States like Maryland, Oregon and cities like Seattle and San Francisco are all about going green and introducing bills to outlaw non-biodegradable plastic bags. Makes sense. Remember when you used to think you were helping the environment by using plastic instead of paper? Those little plastic bags don’t hold many groceries either. So, I bought a few of the canvas bags. They’re convenient until you get meat juice on them, then you have to launder them. We still use the plastic grocery bags and recycle them into our wastebaskets. They’re great for hauling things to other people’s homes when you don’t expect to get them back. They’re handy for putting wet bathing suits in until you get home to dry them. Recently, I’ve found those bags to be defective with holes in the bottom seams—not good for depositing dirt or wet stuff.
Imagine a world where everyone has their own reusable bags and doesn’t mind losing one or two to someone else.

Keep America Beautiful

Soda cans, plastic bottles, paper cups, cigarette packs and butts litter the right of way. I am shocked and disgusted by the items people throw out along the roadside. I went for a 45-minute walk in my country neighborhood and could have filled three large trash bags with the stuff strewn on the side of the road. My husband says I’ve adopted the main intersection to our neighborhood because I keep a small plastic bag in my car and occasionally stop to pick up cups and bottles. I figure someone’s got to do it. And that’s one of the reasons that people litter. They figure someone will clean it up. The other reasons are they have no sense of ownership or there’s already accumulated litter. I just wasn’t raised that way. Remember the “Keep America Beautiful” education campaigns in school? It’s our responsibility to preserve and protect our environment. I want to see green grass and blue skies when I travel, not trash. The next time you’re tempted to throw something out the window of your car, please wait until you see the next trash receptacle. Who keeps America beautiful? We all do.