News

Editors Note:

This is a huge step in the right direction for America. There is no reason this kind of thinking and action couldn't be implemented in the states.  

Territorial government officials support a measure to ban fossil-fuel based plastic shopping bags from been distributed to customers by retail stores and markets in American Samoa.

Exempted under the bill are shopping plastic bags produced from non-petroleum-based biodegradable plastic and compostable plastic bags, as verified by the American Samoa Environmental Agency (ASEPA). ASEPA’s legal counsel Nathan Mease told a House of Representatives committee that ASEPA supports the bill because of it protects the territory’s environment and marine life.

Jeremy Goldberg, coordinator with the Coral Reef Advisory Group, said plastic bags takes approximately 500-1,000 years to decompose and can have long lasting and harmful impacts on the marine environment. “Plastic litter annually kills tens of thousands of marine animals when it is ingested and blocks the digestive tract, fills the stomach, and results in malnutrition and starvation,” he told the hearing. “Thousands of sea turtles are annually killed after they mistake plastic bags for jellyfish, a favorite food.”

Besides turtles, other victims of plastic bags are at least 267 different species known to have suffered from entanglement or ingestion of marine debris including seabirds, seals, sea lions, dolphins, whales and fish, he said. According to Goldberg, numerous efforts are ongoing around the world to address this issue including in some U.S. cities that have either banned or are proposing a ban on plastic bags.

If the House measure is enacted into law, Goldberg said American Samoa would be the first U.S. state or territory to imposed a high level ban on plastic bags. “This legislation would showcase American Samoa as a leader in marine conservation not only in the South Pacific, but throughout all of North America and the Pacific Islands,” he said. “Legislation aimed at minimizing the adverse impacts of plastic bags is strongly endorsed by the Coral Reef Advisory Group and we commend the government for taking such a significant proactive step towards protecting our natural resources.”