Here in my hometown of Santa Barbara, California, the City Council is considering a ban on disposable plastic grocery bags. As a businessperson and a business enthusiast, I understand why plastic bag manufacturers are using every ploy at their disposal to prevent cities from prohibiting the use of their products. Nevertheless I support a ban and hope our city council will take a big stand by taking a small step.

I say a “small step” because while banning plastic bags reduces one source of waste, it potentially increases paper bag use, and that is also harmful to our environment. The ban does not solve our environmental problems, but we need to focus on what the ban can do. For example, it reduces non-biodegradable litter, might help focus our attention on the creation of better solutions, and creates new business opportunities. Is there not a business opportunity for producers and marketers of reusable bags and carts? Could grocery stores give away or steeply discount reusable bags with a minimum purchase? Could our local schools sell reusable bags as fundraisers?

We give away reusable bags at our foundation, and I’ve noticed a lot of people embracing them locally.  Canvas totes have been popular for a long time, but there are also products like the Chico Bag that are amazingly compact; a friend easily carries three in her purse, just in case.

Are we currently meeting a consumer need for disposable paper or plastic grocery bags, or merely indulging everyone’s complacency? While traveling in Rwanda this summer I was impressed that a country of so little means possessed so much courage in facing its challenges: they have banned plastic bags to protect their natural environment. It hasn’t been easy and new challenges have arisen, including the enforcement of such laws, but if this struggling third world nation can try it, so can Santa Barbara.

The Santa Barbara City Council can take a big stand by saying that our environment is a priority, and a high enough priority to take risks for. The council’s highest responsibility is the health and well being of citizens. Recognizing this context, the bag manufacturers could take the risk to develop and produce reusable products. Leadership keeps us moving in the direction of our goal – a healthier environment, and keeps us looking for better solutions. If we wait for a perfect solution, we’ll never act at all.

Responsibilities and priorities create the context for our risk and reward decisions. We know we have to move away from the wastefulness of so many disposable (but non-biodegradable) products. Action will not be painless, but inaction does not advance our goals.

Businesses often suffer more from inaction than from wrong action. Errant experiments can be adapted or cancelled and we can learn from them. But complacency is a narcotizing parasite that makes us feel safe and comfortable, right up until the moment it destroys us.