To: The Michigan State House, The Michigan State Senate, and Governor Gretchen Whitmer
Michigan: Ban The Plastic Bag
Ban the use of lightweight plastic bags in the state of Michigan. The ban would include plastic bags provided at grocery store checkout counters and at all similar retail merchant locations.
Why is this important?
Passing a law regulating the use of plastic bags in Michigan will be a major step in aesthetically improving our communities while reducing the expense of plastic bag disposal. Furthermore, the regulation of plastic bag use would promote Michigan as truly being “Pure”.
We use plastic bags for minutes, yet they persist in our environment for hundreds of years. The average person uses 360 single-use plastic bags every year.
Despite efforts to expand recycling programs, less than 5% of single-use plastic bags are currently being recycled nationwide. The rest of these bags inevitably end up in our landfill or as litter, clogging storm drain systems, and making their way to the Great Lakes. Plastic bags entangle or are ingested by lake wildlife and shore birds, as well as break down into small bits that persist in the ecosystem and may move through the food chain if ingested by fish.
We use plastic bags for minutes, yet they persist in our environment for hundreds of years. The average person uses 360 single-use plastic bags every year.
Despite efforts to expand recycling programs, less than 5% of single-use plastic bags are currently being recycled nationwide. The rest of these bags inevitably end up in our landfill or as litter, clogging storm drain systems, and making their way to the Great Lakes. Plastic bags entangle or are ingested by lake wildlife and shore birds, as well as break down into small bits that persist in the ecosystem and may move through the food chain if ingested by fish.