Despite her reputation as one of the foremost eco-focused lawmakers in Congress, New York’s freshman congresswoman, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, admitted she throws away plastic bags she receives from grocers.
She says it’s not her fault, though, because recycling in New York is “tough.”
“I can be upset that I get ten plastic bags at the grocery store and then have to toss out my plastic bags because the recycling program in the area is tough, and that’s ok,” she said in an interview with NY1’s Errol Louis.
She said the scourge of plastic bags is what motivates her to pursue broader federal legislation in Congress.
“All of these are not reasons to stop fighting, all of these are reasons to keep fighting,” she said. “And these are all reasons and pieces of evidence to say, hey, we need to make it easier to recycle.”
AOC also said her building makes it hard for her to recycle because there’s only a trash chute.
“So that means it’s going to be fundamentally harder to recycle than it is to toss whatever you want down that chute,” she said.
Ocasio-Cortez suggested Americans try swapping single-use coffee cups for a reusable mug. “If you can use your reusable mug one day a week that’s still a huge difference.”