Tell Lehigh County’s elected officials: Take a stand on single-use plastic

Lehigh County officials have proposed legislation to implement a 10-cent fee on single-use plastic bags to help reduce litter and plastic pollution. Plastic bag fees passed elsewhere have proven effective at curbing the plague of plastic pollution -- when Washington, D.C. implemented a fee on plastic bags in 2010, 80% of residents reported seeing fewer bags each week and in San Jose, CA plastic bag pollution dropped to one third the pre-ordinance level.

It’s estimated that over 100 million single-use plastic bags are used--and thrown away--in Lehigh county each year. Less than 1% of these bags are returned for recycling, and instead end up littering our neighborhoods, sitting in landfills that can leach into our groundwater, being dumped in rivers and oceans, or ending up in nearby incinerators that spew air pollution.

The Lehigh Valley can be a leader in keeping our streets and rivers litter-free! Tell the County Commissioners to pass the 10-cent fee on single-use plastic bags.