Editor’s note: This is an open letter from Alix Hobbs, Acting Executive Director of Heal the Bay, regarding Tuesday’s vote by LA City Council members to ban single-use plastic bags.
We did it! After years of debate, the Los Angeles City Council has voted to finalize its ban on single-use plastic bags. Thanks to continued encouragement from Heal the Bay and its network of supporters like you, L.A. is now the largest city in the nation to take aim against the environmental and fiscal waste associated with single-use bags.
We faced intense lobbying from the plastics industry, but citizens’ voices were heard today in the effort to keep neighborhoods and waterways free of plastic blight. Switching to reusable bags will benefit our local economy, create green jobs and save taxpayer money spent on pollution cleanup. Thanks to all of you who signed petitions, made phone calls or testified at hearings!
As we celebrate this important victory, our Science and Policy staff remains vigilant about protecting our shorelines from other forms of pollution — be it cigarette butts, polystyrene containers or plastic water bottles. Help us continue the momentum by becoming a member or making an additional donation.
Here’s to an ocean without plastic bags!
Alix Hobbs
Acting Executive Director of Heal the Bay
