Title
Resolution proclaiming Pittsburgh City Council's intent to introduce an ordinance placing limitations on the use of single-use plastic bags within the City of Pittsburgh.
Body
WHEREAS, In an effort to combat the plastic pollution crisis, local and state governments across the United States and abroad have focused their efforts on regulating the use of single-use plastic bags; and,
WHEREAS, Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year, which requires 12 million barrels of oil to manufacture. Single-use plastics are created through a process called fracking, which releases a toxic stew of air pollution that can cause asthma, childhood leukemia, cardiac problems, and birth defects; and,
WHEREAS, Single-use plastics not only create pollution in their creation, they also litter our communities, end up in our waterways, and obstruct our recycling machines. Following their use, single-use plastic bags take approximately 500 years to decompose; and,
WHEREAS, Plastic Bags or film and Styrofoam present the City with difficulty in recycling, because they require specialized processing, and the plants and vendors are limited. The lack of recyclers and specialized collection needs make plastic bag/film and Styrofoam recycling impractical for the City. This is due to the bags falling into the crevices, wrapping around, or jamming recycling machinery, therefore they are not accepted by recycling centers; and,
WHEREAS, Single-use plastic bags do not biodegrade even when properly landfilled. The bags then end up shredding, and degrading into toxic plastic ribbons that contaminate the soil and water that then enters the food chain; and,
WHEREAS, PennEnvironment, a non-profit dedicated towards eliminating climate impacts, recently released a report that found microplastics in 100 percent of tested Pennsylvania waterways, which leads to microplastics in our drinking water, harming not only our environment but also potentially our physical health; and,
WHEREAS, In ...
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