Plastic pollution poses a significant threat to our environment. Single-use plastic items, such as plastic bags, are manufactured from materials that last over 500 years but often are used for only a few minutes before being burned, buried or littered in our environment.

Scientists have discovered plastic pollution in every corner of the globe, from mountain tops to ocean trenches and inside our own bodies. Recent studies suggest humans ingest 5 grams of plastics a week and two other studies found microplastics in human blood as well as deep within the human lung. While scientists are studying the impact of plastics in our body, they already know that chemicals added to plastics, such as phthalates and PFAS, are known to disrupt hormonal activity and can cause diabetes, cancer and reproductive disorders.

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. Locally, 22 million pounds of plastics enter the Great Lakes every year, and over half of those plastics end up in Lake Michigan. Lake Michigan is the source of drinking water to 6 million people in our state. Plastic bags are putting public health at risk.

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. In our effort to cut down on single-use plastic bags in our community, we must not increase the consumption of paper bags.

The good news regarding single-use bags is that we have options. We can use readily available alternatives like reusable shopping and produce bags.

Increased awareness about the problem with single-use plastic is gaining momentum across the country. Legislation to reduce the use of plastic and paper bags has passed in several states and in municipalities in Illinois, including Chicago, Batavia, Evanston, Edwardsville, Northbrook, Oak Park and Woodstock. Yet, the Midwest is still behind, despite the critical need to protect our Great Lakes. Vernon Hills has a chance to join other leaders in the region on tackling plastic pollution.

We, the residents of Vernon Hills, 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.