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# Baby Steps: Why MacDonald’s Eliminating Plastic Straws in Ireland and the UK is Important to LA
June 18 2018
Written by Leonard Isenberg.
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FIRST PERSON-Might there be a glimmer of hope for the environment and our species’ long-term survival on this planet, now that MacDonald’s has finally acknowledged a plastic-in-the-environment crisis of epic proportions?
Given the magnitude of the problem, it might not seem like much that MacDonald’s has started to implement a program to [eliminate the use of single-use-plastic-straws](https://www.npr.org/2018/06/15/620367460/mcdonalds-says-its-ditching-plastic-straws-in-u-k-and-ireland) in the UK and Ireland. However, it's at least a beginning, which makes me wonder why we all can't -- individuals and businesses -- do this on our side of the Atlantic and, indeed, around the world.
It began as a not well-thought-through convenience over 70 years ago, but now it’s a fair question to ask: how much has single-use-plastic and other non-biodegradable materials compromised the livability of our planet’s environment not only for ourselves but for every other species? The assault went into overdrive during the post-WWII period, all because big business was allowed by the government to ignore the environmental ramifications of what it manufactured. Whether it was product packaging or the product itself, manufacturers have been able to wash their hands of responsibility for much of what they make once it’s put into the stream of commerce. The idea was to sell as much as possible without imposing even reasonable restrictions on consumers, like the minor inconvenience of asking them to bring their own reusable bags or containers -- something that could be a first step in turning things around in the environment.
The primary concern of anything from nuclear material to plastic bags must be its long-term impact on and degradability in the environment. Several years ago, Germany required that the price of something like a washing machine be priced from neutral in nature to neutral in nature, which meant not buying relatively cheap space in West Africa from poor countries to dump their European waste.
While charging 10 cents a bag at the grocery store and elsewhere has to some extent cut down on the consumption of plastic bags, it’s not enough to address the bigger underlying problem, as manifested by huge plumes of plastic debris floating in and washing ashore from the planet’s oceans. Recently, [17 pounds of plastic debris](https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2018/06/more-than-17-pounds-of-plastic-found-in-stomach-of-dead-whale-in-thailand.html) was found in the stomach of a pilot whale.
I find it hard to believe that in 2118, scientists couldn't develop a more biosphere-friendly technology for dealing with this and other problems. But first, the desire for short-term corporate profits would have to no longer hold primacy over this battle for survival.
In our capitalist system that is supposedly built on competition -- but where competition no longer seems to exist -- what would happen if a market or other business opened selling only biodegradable items? I know it would get both my attention and my patronage.
If you have any similar ideas designed to turn around the not-so-slow-motion degradation of our environment, feel free to share them in the comments section below.
*(Leonard Isenberg is a Los Angeles, observer and a contributor to CityWatch. He was a second- generation teacher at LAUSD and blogs at [perdaily.com](http://perdaily.com/). Leonard can be reached at .) Photo: Greenpeace. Edited for CityWatch by Linda Abrams.*
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