A group of Kent residents has started a drive to adopt a city ordinance to ban single-use plastic bags.

Bag Busters – People for a Plastic Free Kent began to gather signatures for a petition last week at the Kent Regional Library.

The group wants a ban similar to the one the Seattle City Council adopted in 2011 because the bags are bad for the environment.

“It’s all about educating people,” said Abbe Gloor, who dressed up in an outfit made of plastic bags to draw attention to the issue outside of the library. “We plan to do this every month here.”

Gloor refers to her outfit as the “Bag Monster.”

The group handed out flyers about why plastic bags are bad for the city and the environment.

Gloor said 11 cities in Washington have banned plastic bags.

“Plastic pollution is a global problem, and we can make a difference right here in Kent,” she said. “We need to protect our rivers and streams, keep our storm drains clear and protect our neighbors, the Puget Sound and Pacific Ocean.”

Gloor, who has lived in Kent for 15 years, said she often sees plastic bags while riding her bicycle.

“Let’s face it, Kent has gotten pretty trashy,” Gloor said. “Recently, I did a 17-mile bike ride around Kent and in that short distance I counted 39 plastic bags stuck in fences, bushes and fluttering along the Green River.”

Gloor was unsure when her group might file an official petition with the city in an effort to get the issue to a vote of the people. She just wants to create awareness now and see if residents favor a ban.

The group has reached out through email to the Kent City Council but hasn’t received much response. It would like to see a council member take on the issue to ban plastic bags similar to what Seattle City Councilman Mike O’Brien sponsored a few years back.

Gloor has emailed O’Brien for details about how he got the rest of the council to adopt the ban but has not yet heard back from him.

The group has copies of the “Bag It” documentary available to show to people interested in banning plastic bags.

The 2010 movie exposes the effects of plastic bags and other plastic consumer merchandise, on land ecosystems, the marine environment and the human body.

For more information, go to bagbusters.org.