A few weeks back, Bob Myhr was sitting at one of my tables and called me over. He was having a customary Friday afternoon lunch with several friends; a weekly event where many of the world’s problems are energetically dissected for close inspection.
On this occasion, Bob wanted to put me on the spot a little bit. He wanted to know if I would stop using styrofoam food containers and switch to the biodegradable type.
I asked “Why?,” to much exasperated moaning from the well-informed group.
Then I went on, “I know that styrofoam is ugly, and it never goes away, However, I have been told, and I have as yet been unable to disprove, that the substances with which biodegradable food containers have been treated to withstand moisture and oils can be toxic when they break down. So, even though they do biodegrade, they can actually be more harmful to the environment than styrofoam. Can you speak to that?”
Suddenly, no one at the table was as sure of themselves as they had been the moment before, and Bob said, “Well, you raise an interesting issue. I’ll look into that.”
Several weeks later, Bob approached me to make sure that I knew that the council had approved the styrofoam ban. I asked if he had found information that supported the assumption that biodegradable was actually better. His answer was “No, but McDonald’s is already doing it, and lots of places are putting similar bans in place.” He mentioned what a neat gal Doris Estabrooks is.
I am disappointed by this. I have developed a great deal of respect for Bob Myhr, and by extension, I have a growing, yet fragile, respect for the work that governments do. Is the type of decision-making displayed on this issue indicative of the style our council favors?
I am an environmentalist. I think that it would be simply idiotic to assert that clean air and water, or that protection of natural biodiversity are not important. But it does not follow that therefore, we should make symbolic policies that are not based on solid facts.
And I’ve got another thing or two to say on this subject.
Who says it’s OK for Verizon to litter our roadsides with their worthless garbage? I absolutely hate to see litter by the roadside. When I walk, I often end up hauling home assorted rubbish, because I can’t stand to leave it sitting there. Well, you know what? I’m not picking up Verizon’s garbage. It can just sit there and look ugly. Who approves of this wholesale littering? Aren’t the bags that protect those books the same thing that “lots of places” have banned?
Meanwhile, I will be fined to put food in styrofoam a box.
Furthermore, I asked Neil Hansen, the Lopez guru of garbage, about the acceptability of recyclable food containers. Knowing the corrugated paper board that has absorbed oil is not acceptable for recycling, I wondered about messy little paper boxes that have remnants of food stuck to them.
“Our present vendor would not accept them,” was his answer.
Plus, by the way, he was not aware that the styrofoam ban had been approved.
Jeff Nichols
Lopez Island
