The West Norriton Township Board of Commissioners recently passed — by unanimous vote — a ban on single-use plastic bags. The action is designed to rein in plastic pollution in area fields and streams.

It is the 13th municipality in the state to do so and the third in Montgomery County.

West Norriton residents use more than 5.9 million single-use plastic sacks each year, the equivalent of 32.6 tons of plastic.

When whole, the waste can choke wildlife and clog storm drains, exacerbating the negative impact of flooding rains.

As they break down, these containers yield microplastics full of toxic chemicals. A recent study from PennEnvironment — a Phila.-based environmental advocacy nonprofit — shows that this aftereffect of decomposing plastic bags has tainted water across the state, including Valley Creek.

PennEnvironment’s Zero Waste Advocate Faran Savitz said of the action: “This new ordinance is a big step forward in the effort to cut unnecessary and dangerous single-use plastics out of our lives.

“Plastic bags are the poster child for the environmental harm caused by single-use plastics. Nothing we use for a few minutes, such as single-use plastic bags, should be allowed to litter our communities, pollute our environment, and fill our landfills and incinerators for hundreds of years to come.

“[The ordinance’s passage] sends a strong message that West Norriton is tired of litter and single-use plastic pollution,” Savitz concluded.

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This Our Changing Climate video examines the impact of plastic and paper have on the environment.