Globally, plastic bags are at the center of an environmental crisis. Not only are large quantities of oil used in manufacturing and transporting the bags around the world, but the bags have also created a massive plastic island in the Pacific, destroying marine life and fragile ocean ecosystems.

Albany has previously instituted programs to recycle plastic bags, but banning the use of plastic shopping bags in supermarkets, pharmacies, and convenience stores is imperative for the preservation of our environment. A measure that bans the use of plastic bags in large retail stores prevents the addition of more plastic bags to the hundred billion that already end up in American landfills each year.

Sign this petition to ask the Albany Mayor's Office of Energy and Sustainability to take the important step of proposing a ban on plastic bags in retail stores throughout the city.

We the undersigned ask you to take the important step of proposing a ban on the use of plastic bags in supermarkets, pharmacies, and convenience stores throughout Albany. Globally, plastic bags are at the center of an environmental crisis, and a measure that bans the use of plastic bags in large retail stores prevents the addition of more plastic bags to the hundred billion that already end up in American landfills each year. We urge you to institute this important ban immediately to prevent further environmental destruction.