CINCINNATI -- Maybe you reuse them to carry your lunch or take out the garbage, but a coalition of local organizations plans to start lobbying city council to take action that'll cut down on plastic bags.
Restaurants and stores in cities throughout California and Texas already charge about 10 cents per bag to encourage customers to carry reuseable bags. Environmental advocates say plastic bags are costly to produce and often end up as litter in our streets and waterways.
RELATED: Sierra Club wants Cincinnati to discourage -- or ban -- disposable plastic bags
A coalition of organizations launched its initiative Wednesday afternoon at city hall by distributing reuseable bags.
"Single-use carryout bags require a plethora of resources to produce and distribute, they compromise the waste stream and our stormwater systems, they foul our waterways and choke tree branches and they are absolutely unnecessary," the coalition wrote in a news release. "The city must take steps to abate these problems; by acting now, we can work together to keep Cincinnati beautiful and sustainable."
Earlier this month, lawmakers in Cleveland introduced an ordinance to charge 10 cents for each single-use paper or plastic bag in Cuyahoga County. The measure would take effect in June 2018 if passed.
The Cincinnati coalition includes: ECO, Limestone Advocates, Sierra Club Miami Group, University of Cincinnati Leaders for Environmental Awareness and Protection, Imago, Enright Ridge Urban Ecovillage, McMicken FreeSpace, Vegan Earth, St. John's Unitarian Universalist Church, First Unitarian Church Social Justice Committee, Community Earth Alliance and more.
