I’ve come to love the Pacific Northwest more than I do my home state of Illinois, and I take pride in having access to the beautiful outdoors and shorelines. While I’m stuck indoors self-isolating, I find myself appreciating that I could go out there and take it all in. I look forward to being able to go again.
However, I can only do that if we take the steps we need to protect our environment. The EPA is now relying on industries to regulate themselves, and cities across the country are repealing bans on single-use plastics. While so far we’ve seen improvements to our environment during this pandemic, the oil and plastics industries have demonstrated themselves to be incapable of self-regulating in good faith. They already produce 100 billion foam cups alone each year, with the waste poisoning our environment and wildlife — while being regulated. We can’t let them go unsupervised.
We should be advancing policy that protects both the health of the public and the environment. Rolling back restrictions on single-use plastics won’t do either. Banning polystyrene foam cups and takeout containers would, and I call on Washington’s leaders to make the right decision for Washington’s future.
