Maui Bans Plastic Bags!

A pet peeve of mine is plastic bags. These petroleum based polymers or polyethylene sacks we use to label and stuff our store bought merchandise are a detriment to our environment. Remember the movie, The Graduate? "Plastic!" claimed Mr. Robinson, "is the future." While plastic has many terrific merits, plastic bags are another matter.

It's a love-hate syndrome, but they have got to go! I pass them on roadways and find them on the beach blowing in the wind. I swim or paddle my canoe in and on the ocean and find them! Ugh! *@! I once freed a turtle whose head was entangled around a plastic bag.

Granted Maui is pretty clean in comparison to some other places. The most dreadful spot on Maui to see the devastating effects of plastic bags to our environment is where they are suppose to find their eventual demise, the Central Maui Landfill, aka "the Dump". Are plastic bags really bio-degradable??? Follow this link. Many of the thousands of them disposed every day, escape and blow in the wind and sail off into trees, the ocean and who knows where.

About three years ago, after assisting the entangled turtle, I weaned myself off of plastic bags. It took about six months to get into the habit, but eventually after many trials, forgets and trips back to my car, to grab one or several of my reusable sacks from Longs, Foodland, or Mana Foods ... the habit kicked in. If I forget my bag, I shop small and try my best to limit my purchase to a few items that will fit in my sack or purse. When I purchase one or two items at a store and the cashier puts the items in a bag, I take the items out and say to the cashier, "Thank you. No plastic for me."

Effective January 1, 2011, the Counties of Maui and Hawai'i have banned plastic bags. Not soon enough for me, but better later than not at all.