Speak Out: Should Plastic Grocery Bags Be Banned?

A Clemson University senior is asking Clemson City Council members to consider banning the use of plastic grocery bags in town.

According to the Anderson Independent Mail, Nathaniel Weaver told council members Monday that only 10 percent of grocery bags are recycled.

“Fifty percent of the bags end up in landfills,” he said.

380 billion plastic grocery bags are used in the United States annually, the wildlife management major told council. 

A variety of animals, including whales and birds, are threatened by this waste. Their digestive tracts get clogged with plastic bags and the animals die, he said.

Speak Out: Should towns do away with plastic grocery bags, or is that a decision for individual stores to make? What kind of grocery bags to do you use? Do you recycle the plastic bags?

 Tell us in the comments!