San Francisco bans the sale of plastic bottles

As mentioned by Raghad and Hassan today in their lesson on waste in the Pacific Ocean, it can take a plastic bottle up to 450 years to break down. And even when it does break down, it contains harmful compounds that can cause damage to life in the oceans or on land.

The average American uses 50 billion plastic bottles every year and only around 20% of these can be recycled. How many do you think the average ABA student uses?

San Francisco has just suggested a brave new environmental law to try and reduce their plastic waste problem. The law has been unanimously agreed on by the city's board of supervisors and now just awaits mayor approval. The concept is to ban sales of plastic water bottles on any city owned property. This is a huge step towards greening the city but predictably is facing huge opposition from drinks companies. 

So watch this space to see who will win out on this one, economy (beverage industry) or the environment. Well done San Francisco and lets hope other cities and perhaps schools (ABA) can follow suit.