“Forever plastics” may soon leave Milwaukee County

Milwaukee County supervisors are continuing to tackle the use of plastic products, with Supervisors Marina Dimitrijevic and Marcelia Nicholson being the latest to introduce a new resolution. The measure, sponsored by the duo, would phase out single-use plastics from county facilities, in the hope of reducing pollution and improving water quality.

The resolution targets “forever plastics,” so-called because of their non-biodegradable nature. All kinds of products, particularly bags, litter the ground before getting flushed through the sewers out to Lake Michigan or the Milwaukee River. From there, they remain in the ecosystem, floating in the water or washed up on a wooded shoreline, presenting hazards to wildlife. There’s also the issue of micro-plastics shed from clothing and fabric, which have been detected by researchers from the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire in Minnesota’s Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness...

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Ken Notes: As long as the economics make these products cheaper, it will be difficult to remove them.