Colorado waterways are under threat from harmful plastic pollution.
One of the worst forms of these products is Styrofoam (polystyrene), and Americans throw away an estimated 70 million plastic foam cups annually and about one-third end up in waterways like rivers, lakes, gulfs and oceans. This plastic waste doesn’t biodegrade, but instead breaks down into smaller pieces that continue to pollute our waterways and wildlife for centuries. Dangerous plastic fragments have been found ingested by literally hundreds of different species.
The number of people whom I’ve seen discarding their plastic products onto our streets and into our waterways is appalling. In order to revitalize our communities, I feel that the banning of such products is paramount; it is no longer a question of convenience; it’s one of necessity.
Encourage your legislators to support bills to ban plastic bags and polystyrene, and ask them to do everything they can to bring these bills to a vote on the floor of the Colorado House and Senate. I am calling on Rep. Barbara McLachlan to act on plastic pollution in Colorado.
Ultimately, we need policy action at the state level to protect our Colorado waterways from the widespread threat of plastic pollution.
David Bratcher
Durango
