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SOLON, Ohio – A young Aurora resident believes our country is headed toward an environmental crisis due to plastic pollution, and he has urged the city to take local action to do what it can to prevent it.
Speaking to City Council Monday (Nov. 6), Mitchell Edgecomb presented a draft proposal to have the city prohibit the retail bulk sale of Styrofoam cups, bowls, plates, trays and containers and plastic utensils, straws, stirrers, toothpicks and tongs.
He distributed a copy of his proposal to each council member.
“I’m here to address a crisis that is spreading across this country and this city,” he said. “That crisis is the ever-expanding flood of municipal solid waste.
“Yes, it’s a nationwide issue. But if the city takes action, we can fight this crisis and we can reduce our waste footprint at least on a local scale.”
Edgecomb said the issue is much more serious than the inconvenience of seeing trash on the side of the road.
“It also costs us trillions (of dollars),” he said. “This country spends around $32 trillion every single year finding ways to dispose of, sort and get rid of all this waste we produce.”
Edgecomb said landfills in Ohio are “nearing peak capacity.”
“Our roadways, natural areas and water resources are being bombarded with litter on a daily basis, and the problem is getting worse,” he said.
“Every single day, Americans will produce around 500 million plastic straws, 110 million plastic utensils, 638 million Styrofoam cups and the equivalent of 8,219 tons worth of Styrofoam containers.”
Edgecomb said many people believe it’s a recycling issue, but he added “that could not be further from the truth.”
Displaying props such as Styrofoam cups, plastic straws and plastic utensils, Edgecomb said these materials “are not conventionally recyclable in nearly all mainstream collection services nationwide.”
“Only 1 percent of facilities are able to process plastic utensils and plastic straws,” he said. “Compare that to the abysmal recycling rate of Styrofoam: .8 percent.”
Plastic recycling has decreased from 9.5 percent in 2014 to less than 5 percent as of 2021, Edgecomb said.
“And this has nothing to do with how we recycle,” he said. “It has everything to do with the amount of waste we produce and the materials themselves.”
Plastic recycling is commonly referred to as “upcycling,” Edgecomb said, because it’s not actually recycling.
“The main culprit of all is the amount of waste we produce,” he said.
“If we switched out all of these single-use materials that are destined to be used only once before they’re disposed of – for example, skipping straws and switching to stainless steel utensils that you probably have in your kitchen or reusable cups or reusable plates – we would reduce our waste footprint by trillions upon trillions every single year. This would effectively end plastic pollution.”
The most concerning consequence of this pollution, Edgecomb said, is the toll it takes on public health.
“You see, all plastics are made of synthetic chemicals that are not able to fully break down in the natural environment.,” he said.
“These chemicals, such as benzine and styrene found in Styrofoam products like dioxide, are known immune system suppressors that can cause cancers, leukemia and birth defects, among other health issues and diseases.
“Thousands of Americans have already lost their lives to plastic pollution, and this mostly affects people who live in poorer areas that are closer in proximity to landfills and face more litter on a daily basis.”
Edgecomb also spoke to Aurora City Council earlier this year about the detrimental outcomes of continuing to use plastic products.
He requested that council place his proposal on a future agenda “so we can really discuss this in detail and implement this as an ordinance, get this drafted by a legal team, get this voted on and get this passed.”
Vice Mayor and Ward 5 Councilwoman Nancy Meany explained that council has a process that it must go through before an item can be placed on the agenda.
She suggested to Edgecomb that he give Clerk of Council Donna Letourneau his contact information so she can follow up with him.
Mayor Ed Kraus thanked Edgecomb for coming to council to share his thoughts about “how we can acclimate ourselves with the changing world.”
Kraus noted the city has made a commitment to be recognized as a “Power a Clean Future Ohio” community.
Power a Clean Future Ohio is a coalition engaging with cities and local governments across Ohio to build a clean future for the state’s communities.
“They give us a lot of guidance into how we can reduce our carbon footprint,” Kraus said. “We have realistic goals (of one through five years).
“So it’s something that we take very seriously in our community.
“Also we have 900 businesses that call Solon home, and the businesses in Solon take that seriously, as well,” he continued.
“So I commend you for coming forward and bringing this to us and really with your passion and your spirit.”
No action on grant-writing contract
In other action, council once again did not move forward on authorizing the mayor to retain the services of McCaulley & Co. of Cleveland to assist with grant writing and strategic government relations initiatives for the city.
Meany said she was comfortable passing the ordinance, introduced to council Oct. 16, but she noted several council members “still have some questions and some concerns.”
“I think the mayor is going to get some more information for us before we move forward,” Ward 3 Councilman Jeremy Zelwin said.
As a result, council left the legislation on third reading and did not vote.
The contract would be for one year, with the option to renew the agreement on a month-to-month basis.
Veterans Day Ceremony
Also on Monday, Kraus invited residents to attend the city’s annual Veterans Day Ceremony at 11 a.m. Saturday at Veterans Memorial Park, at the gazebo in front of Fire Station No. 2, 6320 SOM Center Road.
It’s being hosted by Solon VFW Post 1863.
Holiday Lighting Ceremony
In addition, the city’s annual Holiday Lighting Ceremony will be from 4-7 p.m. Nov. 22 outside City Hall, 34200 Bainbridge Road.
The actual tree lighting is set for 6:45 p.m. There will also be entertainment and inflatables for children.
The event is presented by the Solon Center for the Arts and Solon Parks and Recreation.
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