Your help is needed to pass a resolution that would ban the use of plastic bags in Salt Lake City, Utah.

Plastic bags, while convenient, have proven to be a huge problem for the environment. These disposable and damaging bags, while only used for 12 minutes on average, end up in streets, sewers, rivers, forests and our oceans where they slowly degrade over thousands of years. These plastics wreak havoc on the environment wherever they go. They threaten hundreds of species of animals, leak toxins which end up in our food and water and cost taxpayers millions in waste management.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, up to one hundred trillion plastic bags are used around the world each year. Every year, 15 billion pounds of plastic are produced in the U.S. alone, but only 1 billion are recycled. At a time where many people are trying to find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, we are collectively using about 12 million barrels of oil to produce the plastic bags that are used each year.

Breaking the habit of plastic bag use can start with the individual. We can take reusable bags with us when we shop, we can choose paper over plastic or even skip bagging all together when we only have few items. Voice your concern with your friends, family, local retailers and city officials. All these things can help gain traction in the war on plastic. It may seem like a daunting task to try and solve the plastic bag problem, especially considering the trillions of plastic bags used every year. You may think to yourself that your tiny little choices in your tiny little life couldn't possibly affect this great big world. You may be right, but collectively, billions of people making daily decisions can and do impact the world. That is why we need our local government to establish laws that can aid in the fight. Some governments and retailers have begun taking steps to phase out plastic bags. Many cities across the U.S. have banned single use plastic bags, including Utah's very own Park City.

Utah is known world wide for its beautiful landscape and abundant wildlife. It only makes sense that we should lead the charge in environmental conservation. It's time for this great state's capitol to shine as a leader and ban plastic bags. 

I leave you to ponder this quote from conservationist, Aldo Leopold. 

"We abuse land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect"

Please join the fight for a greener tomorrow. Sign and share this petition and together we WILL make a difference.