I moved to Bellingham this school year as a sophomore transfer, and right away I noticed something missing that was very present in my hometown: plastic bags. At first, I was annoyed by the plastic bag ban in effect in Bellingham. It seemed to me such a ludicrous idea that my method of transferring my purchases from the register to my car must also be purchased. It wasn’t until I returned home and saw plastic bags in grocery stores again that I realized how accustomed to the ban I had become.
I think how if I didn’t move to Bellingham and wasn’t forced to be more sustainable, I would’ve never thought twice about it. Now when I go home, I bring in my reusable bags. It’s such a simple solution, it’s become second nature to me. It’s just like recycling.
As an Olympian, I take pride in growing up in the capital of our beautiful state. I want our state to always stay beautiful.
Maybe if we, as the capital of Washington, took some initiative and banned plastic bags, more cities would follow suit.
And maybe people would stop thinking Seattle is our capital. I’m just saying.
