Plastic Bag Ban

Plastic bags create toxins and global warming emissions throughout their entire life cycle - - from production to consumption and beyond. San Francisco has become the first city in North America to ban the usage of traditional plastic bags in grocery and drugstores. The bar has been raised in the race to save our planet and promote a cleaner and safer environment and it is now time for  New York to step up and jump on the band wagon.

Plastic bags create toxins and global warming emissions throughout their entire life cycle - - from production to consumption and beyond. San Francisco has become the first city in North America to ban the usage of traditional plastic bags in grocery and drugstores. The bar has been raised in the race to save our planet and promote a cleaner and safer environment and it is now time for  New York to step up and jump on the band wagon.

San Francisco has become the first city in North America to ban the usage of traditional plastic bags in grocery and drugstores. The bar has been raised in the race to save our planet and promote a cleaner and safer environment and it is now time for  New York to step up and jump on the band wagon. According to the 1989 Plastic Recycling Directory, Society of Plastics Industry, traditional plastic bags require 594 BTUs of energy to produce and are  made from petroleum and other natural gasses, both of which are non-renewable resources. Not only does this increase our dependency on foreign suppliers but is also leads to the devastation and expungement of ecosystems and habitats worldwide. Each year the US consumes more then 380 billion plastic bags, sacks, and wraps, making up more than 3/4th's of the 500 billion to 1 trillion plastic bags consumed worldwide every year. However, the devastation does not end at the factories; it continues on its way to the stores, into the consumer's trash bins and finally either swept away by the wind or comes to rest in a landfill for up to 500 to 1000 years until they finally decompose. After fulfilling their duties, these seemingly innocuous bags make their way to kill hundreds of thousands of sea turtles and other marine animals who have mistaken them for food. Bags lucky enough not to have been picked up by the wind rest out of mind for of hundreds years. But, it doesn't end there either. Bags do not just harmlessly biodegrade and disappear, instead they photodegrade, meaning that the sun eventually breaks them down into tiny toxic bits which contaminate the soil and waterways, ultimately getting into our food and drinking water. Plastic bags create toxins and global warming emissions throughout their entire life cycle - - from production to consumption and beyond. We, the people, are not asking solely as citizens of NY State, but more directly as inhabitants of this planet that serious action be taken in regard to the future of our earth and the world we live in. With New York being one of the most famous and influential cities in the world, we feel it is our responsibility to help lead the way in the fight against global warming and pave the way to a cleaner and safer planet. We are not simply asking, but rather demanding that we follow San Fransisco and ensure that the prohibition of plastic bags be implemented promptly and without fail. We would also like to thank you for hearing our concerns and hope that you will support us in our efforts.