Dear Editor,
Re: “Not enough plastic talk during Richmond election,” Letters, Oct. 11.
Leave it to a 15-year-old to nail it on the head.
In our city, where Styrofoam packaging dominates takeout, single-use plastic cups and lids pour forth from bubble tea/coffee shops, and sidewalks and parks are regularly mistaken as garbage disposal sites for these and other items, thousands of tons of needless waste is negatively impacting our environment.
Cindy, as much as you and your fellow youth under the age of 18 are correct, sadly, politicians won’t take you seriously because you cannot yet give them what they need: votes.
So, to you and all others discouraged by the serious inaction on the part of elected officials to address the environment with any serious action, I challenge you to not wait for them to listen. Organize and take action!
Form a group that visits stores to let them know why these plastics are destroying the environment and why they must switch to compostable or reusable products. Boycott facilities that don’t take you seriously. Demand meetings with politicians and let them know that in three short years, you will be voting and when you do, your vote will only be cast if real action is happening.
Lastly, the Richmond Recycling Depot now accepts all snack and candy wrapper plastics as well as many other previously non-recyclable items. Start a program in your school to collect, audit and return these items and educate your friends and families to do the same.
I am currently seeing the positive results of this initiative where I work.
Robert Kirkham
RICHMOND
