According to the EPA (Environmental Protection Agency) in the US alone, "we use over 380 billion plastic bags and wraps yearly, requiring 12 million barrels of oil to create."

Our comfort with single-use plastic bags has greatly increased over the years. Originally, plastic bags were invented as a way to decrease the amount of trees being cut down to produce paper bags. The intention was to help the environment, but time has shown that it has done the opposite.

Plastic bags can be found abandoned on roadsides, in bodies of water, and even in forests. With only a small percentage of plastic bags actually being recycled, they are becoming a big problem for the environment.

The best thing to do would be to ban the use of plastic bags everywhere, but that will take a very long time and a lot more people. However, every small change is a step in the right direction which is why we want to start small by encouraging a ban of plastic bags in Alton, Illinois.

Many places around the world have already started placing bans or taxes on the use of plastic bags. There has even been a plastic bag tax proposed in Illinois, but the bill has not been discussed for months. ( https://ilga.gov/legislation/BillStatus.asp?GA=101... )

That is why we would like to start small and possibly encourage other small towns and cities to do the same. If we can get enough people in agreement about this issue, then we will be one step closer to a goal of cleaning up the whole state.

We propose a ban, as opposed to a tax, because a tax will not be as beneficial for the people. If we encourage the use of reusable bags, it will save people more money in the long run. Although most bag taxes are a very low amount, it can still add up and could even make people resent the cause. With a ban and the encouragement of reusable alternatives, even people with lower incomes will not be affected.

A petition will not solve these issues, but people can. That is why we want to use this petition to show people who can do something about it. We want to show them that people do care, but sometimes it is just hard to speak when they feel like their voice doesn't matter.

If we reach our goal of 1,000 signatures, we will contact as many people as we can who have any influence in the city of Alton, and hopefully we will be able to reach someone who can help us make a difference.

Here is some more information about the topic if you are interested:

https://sites.psu.edu/taxtheplastic/statistics-3/

https://illinoispirg.org/feature/ilp/beyond-plasti...

https://blog.epa.gov/2016/11/01/confronting-plastic-pollution-one-bag-at-a-time/#:~:text=Worldwide%2C%20as%20many%20as%20one,1.