Girl Seeks Plastic Shopping Bag Ban

Plastic shopping bags are as ubiquitous as the stores from which they come.

They blow across streets, wrap around trees and sometimes end up in the creek behind 10-year-old Livesey Abar's Vincent Drive home.

That's why the East Cooper Montessori Charter School student recently asked town council for a ban or tax on the potentially harmful plastic bags.

"My brother and I pick up trash in the creek. There are bottles, cups and plastic bags," Abar said. "So I wanted to do something… I thought I should try to ban, or at least reduce the use of plastic bags."

Bans on plastic bags, or taxes on their use, are a growing trend. At least a dozen U.S. cities, such as Austin, Texas, Long Beach, Calif., Rye, N.Y., and others, have already adopted similar ordinances.

Abar said she was moved to action by a mandatory school-service project that encouraged students to make a positive impact on their community.

Along with other kids, she collected trash from local waterways in an annual beach sweep.

That was all that her school required, but then her mother showed her the movie "Bag It," a documentary that addresses the over-use of plastics.

"I wanted to educate people about plastics in the water," Abar said.

So Abar collected roughly 300 signatures on a petition that urges Mount Pleasant Town Council to enact a plastic bag ban.

"When I was at recess, I'd ask teachers, students, anyone really, to sign the petition," Abar said. "One day, I was able to leave school and collect signatures in (I'On), the community around my school."

Not everyone agrees with the ban, Abar said. Plenty of students and folks in the community refused to sign the petition, but just as many agreed the ban was worthwhile, she said.

Mayor Billy Swails accepted Abar's petition at June's town council meeting. So far, the council hasn't taken action. But her mom says she's proud of her daughter.

"She was already done with school for the summer when we went to the council meeting," said Alys Campaigne. "She didn't have to do this for school."