Template for letter to a Toronto City Councillor

Dear Councillor:

As one of your constituents, I am writing to ask that you support a ban on plastic bags.

Frequent and numerous warnings from the scientific community regarding the harmful consequences of plastic have led me to question whether plastic bags are really necessary.

Plastic bags, like many other plastic products, are designed to be used once and then thrown away but since there really is no ‘away’ to throw things I believe the best way to deal with plastic waste is not to produce it. Toronto City Council, to its credit, demonstrated support for this approach when it set a goal of 70% waste diversion and identified source reduction as a priority initiative. A ban on plastic bags would go a long way in helping the City realize this goal as thousands of tonnes of plastic would not be entering the waste stream. Furthermore, a ban could be seen as an important first step in educating Torontonians to use reusable products rather than disposable ones.

Any small convenience afforded by plastic bags is not a good enough reason to continue to use them given the heavy burden they place on the environment.

I’d like to provide you with a pledge to sign to demonstrate your commitment to this initiative. I will be contacting you to find out where you stand on this important issue and to ask if you’d be willing to sign the pledge.

Please help me make Toronto cleaner and greener by supporting a ban on single use plastic bags.

Sincerely,

You can download this template for a message to your councillor