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Local environmentalists, from high-schoolers to professionals, tonight encouraged the Carmel City Council to ban single-use plastic bags within city limits.

Angela Brantley, the city of Monterey's solid waste program manager, presented Monterey's own research into the possibility of a bag ban.

Representatives of the Carmel High School environmental club, Carmel Middle School's MEarth Habitat and Carmel River Elementary School relayed the widespread support of local students for a plastic bag ban. Save Our Shores, Surfrider and several local sustainability groups also lined up behind the effort.

Councilman Jason Burnett worked with Carmel High school students, Sustainable Carmel and others to bring a potential bag ban to the council's attention. Mayor Sue McCloud, who sits on the regional Litter Abatement Task Force, placed the discussion on the agenda.

Monterey Regional Waste Management District Manager Jay Ramos said the landfill recycled more than 1,000 tons of plastic bags last year via the "bag in bag" initiative, which allows residents to recycle their plastic film curbside. The waste district supports a ban, he said.

A state bill to outlaw plastic bags was defeated in the Senate last fall, shifting the momentum to individual jurisdictions. Los Angeles County has already implemented such a ban.

Recently, the Monterey Bay National Marine Sanctuary voiced its support for bag bans in jurisdictions bordering the Sanctuary, due to the documented threat it poses to marine life.