Once again California leads us by example. Stephanie and I have a bunch of reusable shopping bags (now if I could just remember to bring them in the store more often!). But those plastic bags won't go away until they are banned. I can't tell you how many times I see them blowing and swirling in the wind or floating in a pond or lake somewhere.

There is a section of the Pacific that is literally clogged with our plastic and garbage. Much of it coming from the west coast. It is killing the marine life there and is a terrible eyesore. I commend California for banning these horrible things. Now what about Illinois? I hope we aren't too far behind.

Rather than just bitch on my blog, I thought I would try and do something useful. So I'm going to write my state legislator and ask that something more be done. Below is my email that I'm sending to a bunch of state politicians. I'm also going to send this to our federal representatives.

California has once again led the fight to save the planet. They have banned plastic bags by 2010. This will keep tons of plastic from filling up even more garbage fills. See http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2008/07/23/la-plastic-bag-ban-dispos_n_114557.html for more information.

Just as Illinois has followed with the smoking ban (which has been so wonderful!) I would urge you to pass legislation that would also ban plastic bags from use and require the use of reusable bags, made from durable recycled material.

Jewel, Costco, Lush, and Wholefoods all have awesome reusable bags that we use and they should be commended for it.  Our business owners are already offering the service in many cases. The "Plastic Bag Recycling Act" is better than nothing but it doesn't go far enough. Banning them is a slam dunk. Illinois is ready for this.

Also see
http://news.medill.northwestern.edu/chicago/news.aspx?id=68191
http://www.petitiononline.com/BagFree/