In 2007, San Francisco became the first city in the United States to ban the use of plastic bags at large grocery stores, and in February, the Board of Supervisors voted to extend the policy to all restaurants and stores. By October of this year, plastic bags were history in San Francisco, and dozens of other California cities followed suit. In 2009, the North Carolina senate voted to ban plastic bag distribution in large stores with more than 5,000 square feet or more of floor space in favor of recycled paper bags. As early as next year, a similar proposal could go before the Dallas City Council, and various cities in Alaska, Colorado, Hawaii, New York, Oregon, Texas, and Washington have already implemented bans or limits on the use of plastic bags.

Plastic bags are non biodegradable and, as such, spend hundreds of years sitting in landfills before they fully decay. Furthermore, hundreds of thousands of animals, both marine and not, die when they ingest or became entangled in these discarded bags.

Could New Orleans become the next city to ban or limit the use of plastic bags in grocery stores? Check out and sign this petition to encourage a city ordinance controlling the distribution of single-use plastic bags in retail stores!