Since the Oregon Legislature voted to ban single-use plastic grocery bags and limit plastic straws in 2019, most Oregonians have grown used to bringing their own bags to the store and asking for straws.
It takes roughly 20,000 uses before a single bag hits environmental breakeven versus plastic bags. And many of us reused plastic bags.
Now, lawmakers looking to stop plastic from piling up on the state’s beaches are turning their attention to other plastic utensils, condiment packaging and hotel-issued toiletries.
Or maybe just increase the fines for littering?
The Oregon Senate voted 22-8 on Tuesday to pass Senate Bill 551, which would expand the state’s plastic bag ban to cover takeout bags provided by restaurants and the thicker plastic bags some stores have offered since the original ban took effect in 2020.
The bill would also require customers to explicitly ask for plastic utensils, single-serving plastic packaging for condiments like ketchup, coffee creamer, jelly and soy sauce and plastic-packaged hospitality size shampoos, soaps and lotions, like they already must ask for straws.
This is possibly the most annoying way to make minimal environmental improvements. These items constitute next to nothing environmentally, making this almost entirely performative while inconveniencing everybody in the process.