​Dear New Brunswick City Council,

We live in an economy that encourages us to use, produce, and toss at the greatest speed. Often, we don’t think twice about our coffee to-go cup or groceries in a plastic bag. Because when we’re done with that coffee cup or plastic bag, we throw it away. But there is no “away.”

All of this waste clogs our landfills, trashes our parks, and litters our streets, but it also washes into our rivers and oceans, where it can harm wildlife.

For New Jerseyians, it isn’t uncommon to witness plastic trash washing up on the shore or plastic bags flying around like tumbleweed. In fact, residents alone use 4.5 billion plastic bags each year.

Nothing we use for a few minutes should threaten our health and pollute our future for hundreds of years.

It’s time for New Brunswick to act. By getting rid of single-use plastic bags, we can play an important role in the statewide effort to reduce our dependence on single-use plastics.