rich 1.0 Action Network https://actionnetwork.org <link href='https://actionnetwork.org/css/style-embed-v3.css' rel='stylesheet' type='text/css' /><script src='https://actionnetwork.org/widgets/v6/petition/vernon-hills-plastic-bag-ban-petition?format=js&source=widget'></script><div id='can-petition-area-vernon-hills-plastic-bag-ban-petition' style='width: 100%'><!-- this div is the target for our HTML insertion --></div> Go Green Vernon Hills & Lincolnshire https://actionnetwork.org/groups/go-green-vernon-hills https://can2-prod.s3.amazonaws.com/share_options/facebook_images/000/409/918/original/Go_Green_VH-L_Logo.png Plastic pollution poses a significant threat to our environment. Scientists have discovered plastic pollution in every corner of the globe, from mountain tops to ocean trenches and inside our own bodies. Single-use plastic bags contribute greatly to America's problem with plastic pollution. Americans use 100 billion plastic bags per year. For Vernon Hills alone, that is 9.8 million plastic bags every year. Furthermore, only 1-3% of plastic bags are recycled, and many plastic bags end up as litter in our communities and our oceans. While paper bags are biodegradable and avoid some of the significant problems of plastic, they require the cutting down and processing of trees, which involves large amounts of water, toxic chemicals, fossil fuel and heavy machinery. We, urge The Village of Vernon Hills to pass a .20 cent local fee on all single-use plastic and paper bags (consumers eligible for SNAP benefits will be exempt from the fee.) We propose the fee, which would incentivize the use of reusable shopping and produce bags, be used to create a sustainability committee for the Village so that Vernon Hills can continue to create and implement new strategies to improve our environment. https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/vernon-hills-plastic-bag-ban-petition