The Ohio House of Representatives has just voted 57 to 35 to pass a bill that would block bans of single-use plastic bags, straws, cups, and other plastic items.
This move comes after several Ohio local governments including Orange Village and Cuyahoga County have imposed local bans to help reduce plastic pollution.
The house has decided that it is their right to be able to strong-arm citizens and continue to pollute the planet with plastic as they deem fit, to the point that they will take the decision away from concerned citizens and local governments.
It’s reported that Ohio retailers and grocery stores are among the biggest supporters of this ridiculous bill to ban a ban on plastic.
While the people with brains in their heads argue that this blocks local communities from the ability to make choices for themselves and care about the future of the planet by choosing to reduce plastic litter that is polluting Lake Erie.
House Rep. and Harrison County Republican, Don Jones sponsored the legislation. He took the floor and referenced Cleveland’s recent moves seeking to opt-out of the recent Cuyahoga County plastic-bag-ban. Here he comments: “We have to be aware that this could be just the tip of the iceberg, [the bill] “restricts consumer choice and imposes a burden on hard-working Ohioans.” He went on to suggest other items, like plastic straws or cups, could be next.
Kent Smith, a Euclid Democrat Rep. responded:
Let me tell you what that iceberg is. That iceberg is a 22 million-pound plastic iceberg that floats through the Great Lakes ecosystem each year.
The 22 million-pound iceberg he is referring to is from a 2016 study from the Rochester Institute of Technology, this is the amount of microplastic they found floating in the Great Lakes back then. Lake Erie was second behind Lake Michigan with 2,500 metric tons of plastic. Researchers found 4.41 metric tons of microplastic enter Lake Erie every year. Unlike the garbage patches found circling in our oceans, the plastic in the Great Lakes is carried by strong currents and heavy winds to the shore.
Democratic Minority Leader Emilia Sykes said she thinks this is not an issue for state lawmakers to decide:
“I think it oversteps our boundaries as a body and we should definitely let our local communities make this decision for themselves.”
Please excuse the computer voice in the video, there are some good facts here.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NLk419h1BSw
Others have commented saying that a veto should take place. As for now, the bill is about to head to the Ohio Senate, which is in the process of debating its version of the bill. The current session ends in December 2020.
The time for Ohio citizens to speak up with their displeasure of this ban on banning plastic is now before the December session ends. It would also be nice if the surrounding states got involved in some way. Plastic pollution affects everyone, this is hardly a decision that these greedy money-hungry politicians and big business should be allowed to control.
