As residents of San Angelo, we respectfully request that the City of San Angelo adopt an ordinance that would place a ban on single use plastic bags. Businesses may instead provide only recyclable paper bags, resusable bags, biodegradable bags for a fee or as a service to their customers.
Single use plastic checkout bags generate significant public cost in disposal and litter control as well as negative environmental impact:
1. they contribute to overburdened publicly financed landfills, degrade the river and other natural landscapes;
2. they clog storm water drains and sewer lines, necessitating expensive repairs;
3. they are a significant and costly component of litter;
4. they are consumed in extremely high volumes;
5. they are produced from non-renewable resources;
6. they are designed to be disposable (rather than reusable);
7. they are difficult to recycle;
8. they are not degradable in the environment;
9. they represent a hazard to marine animals and birds;
10. they are a nuisance and an eyesore detracting from the natural beauty of San Angelo.
An estimated 100 billion petroleum based plastic checkout bags are used each year in the U.S.. This requires 12 million barrels of oil to produce and only 2% of plastic bags are ever recycled. . A ban on plasttic bags would help preserve the integrity of our local environment, reduce the burden on our landfill, and significantly cut back the unsightly litter within San Angelo.
We thank our local representatives for their time and consideration of this positive change for our community.
