"Plastics!"

It’s been more than four decades since Dustin Hoffman’s character in the movie, “The Graduate,” was given the advice to pursue a career in plastics. And while in the grand scheme of things it may not seem like a major issue, plastics are still affecting nearly every part of our lives -- even among those of us living in Africa. It is true that they have helped in the advancement of medical treatments and procedures as well as in flight and space exploration, but they continue to take their toll on our environment as well.

CNN reports that this week, California’s governor is signing into law the complete banning of plastic bags in nearly every store or supermarket. And on the other side of the globe -- in Ghana where the streets are choked with trash and littered with plastic waste that blocks gutters and clogs storm drains -- something is also being done. Discarded plastic drinking bottles are being collected, cleaned, reformed and then stitched together to make brightly colored, fashionable bags.

An important part of the project is education, those associated with the project explain. It is true that there are clothing companies around the world using materials made from recycled plastic, but this process shows that the bags are obviously made from the original plastic packaging. The Ghanaians love them and realize that plastics need to be dealt with -- before and after use.

In these days of increasing environmental awareness, other nations can learn from this as well.