Plastic bags infest the Kansas prairie, degrading and threatening our health. We can change course.

A pair of single-use plastic bags sit atop two reusable bags. Stores in Lawrence had to switch after a city ordinance took effect. (Photo by Clay Wirestone/Kansas Reflector)

Each spring, volunteers walk along the Kansas River for the annual Earth Day Kansas River Cleanup. In a few hours, they pull out hundreds of pounds of trash. Much of it consists of single-use plastic bags — caught in branches, wrapped around rocks or floating just beneath the water.

These cleanups are important reminders of what the community can accomplish together. But they’re also reminders of what our policies fail to do. We can’t rely on volunteers to solve a problem created every time we take home groceries.

Every year, Americans use more than 100 billion plastic bags, and most are used for just 12 minutes before being thrown away. The problem? Those bags don’t disappear. They run along the streets, clog storm drains, and end up in our rivers and lakes. The Midwest should be known for tumbleweeds, not drifting plastic.

Cleaning bags up costs real money. Cities and counties spend thousands each year to haul away plastic waste that never had to be there in the first place. The problem isn’t just looks: Plastic bags break down into tiny pieces that pollute our soil and water, harm wildlife, and even work their way into the food we eat.

Kansas can do better. In 2024, Lawrence took the lead and became the first city in the state to ban single-use bags. Despite predictions of chaos, local businesses made the switch smoothly. Shoppers bring reusable bags or use provided paper bags.

Our neighbors in Colorado have gone further. They passed a statewide plastic bag ban last year, and they’re already seeing cleaner streets, lower waste costs and less strain on landfills. Colorado isn’t alone. States such as California, New York and Oregon have banned or restricted plastic bags, and hundreds of cities nationwide have done the same.

Why is Kansas still behind?

Kansans want to protect our land. We’re proud of our creeks, prairies, and farmland. Small towns especially understand what it means to care for the local environment — they’re the first to see plastic caught in fences or washed into ditches. But the challenges are bleeding into our larger communities, and state leaders have been dragging their feet.

They don’t have to wait. Cities including Wichita, Leavenworth, Topeka and others can follow Lawrence’s lead and pass their own local bans. Rural communities can start small — encouraging the public to take reusable bags to the store or passing local ordinances to phase out single-use plastic.

As a University of Kansas student studying journalism, I talk with classmates and neighbors who all say the same thing. Kansans don’t want our rivers to be plastic dumping grounds. We don’t want wildlife choking on our waste. We don’t want to keep spending tax dollars picking up litter that shouldn’t be there to begin with.

Change takes planning. Local leaders should talk to small businesses and give them realistic timelines to find adjustments. Communities should encourage reusable bags and enlist grocery stores to help everyone make the switch. But these are small steps — and the payoff is a cleaner Kansas for everyone.

We shouldn’t need another Earth Day cleanup to remind us that plastic bags don’t belong in our rivers. Volunteers can’t do it alone. Leaders — from city councils to Statehouse representatives — can step up, listen to the Kansans doing the work, and make different choices.

If Colorado can do it, so can Kansas. If Lawrence can do it, so can Wichita. It’s time for Kansas to take pride in our land that is so prominent in our culture and prove that doing away with plastic bags isn’t radical — it’s responsible.

We have a responsibility to our rivers, our farms, our wildlife, and the next generation of Kansans who deserve a cleaner state than the one we’re currently handing them now.

It’s time to let plastic bags go for good, and keep Kansas beautiful for the future.

Max DaMetz is a senior studying journalism and mass communications at the University of Kansas. Through its opinion section, Kansas Reflector works to amplify the voices of people who are affected by public policies or excluded from public debate. Find information, including how to submit your own commentary, here.