We the undersigned call upon Burlington City Council to ban the distribution of single use plastic bags from grocery stores, retail stores, restaurants and other businesses within the City of Burlington.

According to a report released by the United Nations Environment Programme, only 9 percent of all plastics produced have been recycled, while 12 percent have been incinerated and a full 79 percent have ended up in landfills, dumps, or the environment.

18 billion pounds of plastic waste flows into our oceans every year from coastal regions, amounting to 5 grocery bags of plastic trash sitting on every foot of coastline around the world. Our ocean debris kills at least 1 million seabirds and 100,000 mammals a year and more than 80 percent of plastic litter, including single use plastic bags, comes from land-based sources.

As recycling programs have proven ineffective in the fight against plastic pollution, many Canadian and international cities such as Victoria, Montreal, San Francisco and Mexico City have already introduced a ban on plastic bags or are in the process of doing so. In communities that already have a ban in place, bans have been shown to contribute positively to the environment.Please join us in the fight against plastic pollution and let The City of Burlington know that you support a plastic free community!

In the meantime, what else can you do to fight plastic pollution?

• Support #bagfreeburlon by sharing on social media
• Ask employees and the Manager where you shop to stop providing plastic bags
• Shop with reusable bags
• Shop in bulk with your own containers (bulk barn, refill markets etc).