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

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…