We have become a culture that expects its purchases to be wrapped up in pristine plastic or paper bags. Now we are being forced to change this attitude, and how we love to whine about it.

Since plastic grocery bags first arrived in 1977, humans have proved themselves completely incompetent at keeping them under control. They’re everywhere -– floating alongside cars on roads, in trees, on the beaches, down rivers and storm drains, and riding the ocean waves.

You’ve most likely heard by now of the North Pacific Gyre, the patch of plastic soup midway between California and Hawaii. It’s said to be twice as large as Texas and made up of tiny bits of plastic broken down from our bags, bottles, toys and so much more. Plastic is not biodegradable and can last up to 1000 years.

It’s not just a Pacific Ocean occurrence; four other major gyres have been discovered in the world so far. These massive plastic stews are impossible to recover or separate from the ecosystem. And they continue to become even more toxic by attracting such man-made chemicals as PCBs and DDT.

Because sea life and sea birds can’t always distinguish a nutritious bit of plankton from a toxic bit of plastic, they partake of both.

Little imagination is needed to see how easily these toxic plastic bits move up the food chain to you and me. The overall affect on humans is pretty much unknown at this time.

Americans use nearly “one trillion” plastic bags each year, with only 2 percent being recycled. One trillion = 1X1012, twelve zeros, 1,000,000,000,000.

We are a disposable-minded society. It’s time we stop whining about having to be coerced into being responsible. If it takes a bag fee to get us to use reusable bags, it can only be a good thing.

So call them crazy environmental zealots, but Seattle has taken the initiative by bringing to vote this month a 20-cent fee on plastic and paper grocery bags. If approved, Seattle will be the first American city to do so. Paper bags are included because their environmental footprint is also unacceptable, using up 14 million trees each year and highly toxic chemicals during manufacture.

The Seattle City Council is hoping to begin to reduce the effect of our disposable bag obsession by educating people in how to interact with reusable grocery bags. They’ve virtually thought of everything. Plastic and paper bags used by customers in a store to gather produce, bulk and other goods will remain as before. (Yes, dog lovers, we’ll still have something to pick up the poop.) Fees collected will go toward supplying low-income shoppers with reusable bags and further re-education.

A note on recycling: The plastic bag industry would rather we continued using their product and educate users on recycling plastic bags. Praise to those who do take the initiative to recycle their plastic bags, but this can’t be a long-term solution for two reasons:

One, the cost of recycling bags ends up being more than the cost of making them in the first place. And two, plastic bags are usually only “down-cycled” to sub-quality plastic fill for other uses. Manufacturing new plastic bags is still necessary but takes millions of barrels of oil to do.

Here in Kitsap County, grocery stores are making it easier to access reusable grocery bags. They’re selling them for as little as 99 cents and signs are going up around the parking lots and stores to remind customers to bring their own bags in with them. This is something you can do today to begin addressing this worldwide plastic catastrophe. So, remember to BYOB.

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