Chicago’s City Council backs a fee on plastic bags, and your laundry may be sending microplastics into the ocean.
Bags in the budget: The Chicago budget proposal was passed unanimously by the City Council, according to ABC 7. The budget includes a 7-cent fee for consumers on all paper and plastic bags distributed by retailers.
Boston weighs bag ban: The Boston City Council is considering an ordinance that would charge consumers 5 cents for all paper and plastic bags they receive at retail stores — the bags would be required to be at least three-thousandths of an inch thick. According to the Boston Herald, the ordinance would ban plastic bags thinner than that threshold. A vote could be coming the coming weeks.
Laundry pollution: An article on treehugger.com describes the problem of microplastics in the ocean that come from synthetic clothing. The article says fleece and other synthetic fibers shed during the wash, and those tiny pieces often end up in the ocean.