California's joining corporate America in banning convenience, and now it appears, cleanliness. A legislative proposal before the California State Assembly seeks to ban those convenient little bottles of shampoo that come free with your hotel room. Why? Well, to cut down on ocean pollution, of course.
Yet, those little bottles aren't even the problem.
In fact 90 percent of ocean polution comes from Asia and Africa—not the United State. Analysis by the World Economic Forum found that 10 rivers—the Yangtze, Indus, Yellow, Hai He, Fanges, Pearl, Amur, and Mekong in Asia, and the Nile and Niger in Africa are responsible for the vast majority of trash in the ocean. And most of what makes up ocean pollution is fishing gear–not teeny hotel shampoo bottles.
California politicians want to do something to make it appear that they care about this important issue. So, they ban straws, and plastic bags, and now shampoo bottles. Some think that these are good moves toward a cleaner earth and don't mind the minor inconvenience that comes with these sorts of bans. But where does it end? At what point will plastics used in food and product packaging be banned? When will plastic be banned in electronics, toys, furniture, and other items?.
California would do well to focus on real solutions than promote policies that make life harder, and less clean.