Ban Straws?
If You Want To
Recycle More Plastic,
Focus On Worst Abuser

To the Editor:
Let me weigh in on  Amazon, Cuomo, the environment, and ignorance.
First Amazon. Fourth-richest company in the world. Recent announcement of expansion in New York, thanks to the governor and his desire to continue to revitalize the Long Island City area which – if you have witnessed over the last 30 years – has become an extension of Manhattan.
Not a bad thing perhaps, but could have been much better. I’ll get back to that shortly.
•If you are paying attention to some headlines, you will see townships across America are banning the use of plastic straws. This action is a great way to raise awareness of the importance of minimizing plastic use.
However, the increased usage of plastic and packaging being utilized for our conveniences is offsetting the positives of any sipping-straw ban.
Years ago, I remember, we used to travel out once or twice a year and do our school shopping and in one visit to the department store, we purchased our school supplies, clothes, and anything else we needed for the household.
Now, if we have a wedding to go to this weekend and need a tie or a new pair of shoes, we go to our phone, order, and in a day or so our new item is at the doorstep packaged in cardboard, wrapped in plastic, wrapped in bubble wrap, wrapped in more plastic and sometimes Styrofoam.
Yes, we are still using Styrofoam, can you believe it!?
All for one neck tie. So the damage of online ordering will far surpass the improvement of banning the usage of plastic straws. While I will always admit that we are all contributors
to a less-than-pristine environment, we all can do better and demand our elected “leaders” do a better job negotiating deals with Fortune 5 companies.
One example of a better deal would be requiring
Amazon, and all big box stores for that matter, to participate in funding and establishing recycling facilities to take back all the plastic, Styrofoam and cardboard so that consumers can be more responsible.
I spoke with John
Casella from Casella Waste Systems, who clearly stated these are items his company could collect and recycle providing they had facilities to do so. Facilities that cost quite a bit of money to put together.
The question I have is: Couldn’t Cuomo have asked Amazon to at least put up one facility so that consumers could recycle the packaging material utilized? That would have been an example of a better deal in my opinion. But in order to get that deal done, the governor would have to care about the environment.
When Senator Seward announced he secured $250,000 of taxpayer
money for a Cooperstown Wi-Fi project, I thought, where is the money to put something in place that benefits all of his constituents?
Honestly, I don’t care at all if a single person in Cooperstown can get on the Internet faster than what is already available to them. But a place to recycle the stuff killing us, that would make much more sense.
•Back to Cuomo. Some would argue that he does care about the environment, but I question that. Recycling facilities barely exist in New York State, allowing consumers to bring film plastic, Styrofoam, cereal box liners, potato chip bags, fertilizer, potting soil, or pellet fuel bags, and other harmful items such as these.
Unfortunately, what is more important to this governor is allowing people to get high on dope regularly, or legalizing sports gambling perhaps.
And this is where ignorance comes in. Many voters of New York think this governor cares about their futures or what is best for New York. This governor cares about his family’s future well-being and how much money he can distribute to voters to continue to buy his elections.
He cares about his donors and the money they poor into his pockets. He tells New Yorkers he’s dedicated to them and would rather be governor of New York than president of the United States.
Nonsense!
The only reason he doesn’t run for president is because he knows he would never win the national election. He forever will be living on our dime. Our public-school system is an absolute joke. And I will debate anyone on that topic.
The environment is filthy and deteriorating. Responsible gun owners are being singled out when in fact we should be carrying and protecting in public. Illegal immigrant rights are more important to Andrew than the babies he insists need to be aborted and tossed in the trash.
Waste, fraud, and corruption are as prevalent throughout this state as ever before. And I will always call the Tappan Zee bridge the Tappan Zee bridge. Start thinking about the next election now because this state deserves better!

SAL FURNARI
Towns of Otsego/Hartwick