Bring Your Own Bag Plastic Reduction Act
Anne Arundel County Council Members
Anne Arundel County Residences Take Action!
Plastic bags are among the top ten most littered items in Maryland.
Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year!
They are bad for the environment, bad for wildlife, and bad for you.
Plastic bags break down into “microplastics,” which are extremely small pieces of plastic, smaller than 5 millimeters. We inhale and ingest roughly 121,000 of these microscopic particles a year.
Fish, marine life, and other wildlife ingest much larger pieces as well, which is harmful to them and to us, who eat them.
9 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year and add as much greenhouse gas to the environment as 189 new coal plants.
In Maryland three large counties, four cities, and four towns across Maryland have passed laws to encourage shoppers to use reusable bags.
Anne Arundel County’s plastic bag ban vote has been pushed back and amended 3 times!
Help pass this bill by showing Anne Arundel County Council that you support bringing your own bag and reducing plastic bag waste, Bill 19-23.
Sponsored by
To:
Anne Arundel County Council Members
From:
[Your Name]
Dear County Council Members of Anne Arundel County Council,
We, the undersigned residents of Anne Arundel County Maryland support the passage of the Bring Your Own Bag Plastic Reduction Act, Council Bill 19-23 – a Ban on Plastic Bags.
This bill requires retail establishments in Anne Arundel County to end the practice of providing plastic bags at points of sale and places a 10-cent fee on paper and reusable bags. If this bill became law, it would encourage residents of Anne Arundel County to use reusable shopping bags and will significantly reduce plastic waste.
With 9 million metric tons of plastic entering the ocean each year, the world is facing a plastic pollution crisis. We all must do our part to end plastic pollution. Americans use 100 billion plastic bags per year, which require 12 million barrels of oil to produce. Every year, plastics add as much greenhouse gases to the atmosphere as 189 new coal plants.
Plastic bags are used for an average of 12 minutes, but can last for more than 500 years. Plastic bags are one of the top five most common plastic items found in beach cleanups worldwide and are the most commonly found synthetic item in the stomachs of sea turtles. Once they begin to break down, the smaller particles called “microplastics.” can make their way easily into the bodies of fish, including fish eaten by humans, and other marine life, with uncertain repercussions.
Plastic bags are among the top ten most littered items in Maryland.
Three large counties, four cities, and four towns across Maryland have passed laws to encourage shoppers to use reusable bags.
We call on the County Council to enact a Ban on Plastic Bags in Anne Arundel County, Maryland.