We can do more to cut waste, help climate

My husband and I are trying to eliminate or at least reduce our use of single-serve plastic. We carry our own silverware and reusable straws with us, so we don't have to use the plastic versions when we go out. On a recent trip to a local restaurant, I noticed that the server included straw with our water. We asked for the water, but not the straws. I then went to the grocery store and there were four plastic bottles left in the cart I was planning to use.

I wanted to toss them in a recycle bin, but there were none around. I then stopped at the coffee shop to meet a friend. Everything we ordered came in paper/cardboard serving containers that could easily be recycled, but there were no such receptacles around.

I'm wondering if we might call upon restaurants, grocery stores, and other retail shops to consider being more environmentally responsible by using recycling bins and making them available to customers. Climate change is very real, despite what some politicians may claim. On a recent trip to Europe, I noticed that nearly every place we went there were three separate waste bins; one for paper, one for plastic, and one for food scraps. If they can do it, we should be able to do as well; for the good of the planet!

Beth Small

Elgin