The letter “Plastic bag bans only serve to make people feel better” (Jan. 29, TribLive) questioned the effectiveness of plastic bag bans. Fortunately, a new report found well-crafted bans, including the one in effect in Pittsburgh, have helped eliminate billions of plastic bags across the country.

Pennsylvania is overflowing with plastic — it’s in our water and even our air. I can’t walk in my neighborhood or local park without seeing plastic bags in trees and soda bottles on the ground. According to a study from Keep PA Beautiful, the city of Pittsburgh spends $6.3 million annually cleaning up litter.

Still, this trash is piling up. Just 400 feet from the Hot Metal Bridge, a giant patch of garbage is floating in the Monongahela River. With no easy way to collect and dispose of it, the waste is periodically flushed downstream, where it clogs dams and pollutes our oceans. Besides damage to infrastructure, a garbage patch ruins the scenery of a beautiful part of town.

The best way to stop this pollution is to stop using single-use plastics, most of which can be replaced with reusable alternatives most of us already have. The city of Pittsburgh already took action, passing a plastic bag ban that went into effect in October. I was excited to see the Allegheny County Council propose a similar measure last year. Allegheny County would be the first county in the state to pass such a bill. I hope other council members will follow the lead of council member Paul Klein, who sponsored the bill.

Annika Simpich

South Oakland

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