Mayor Kirsten Hytopoulos wants Bainbridge to be the fifth city in the state to ban plastic bags.

Read all about it here.

Hytopoulos plans to make a formal proposal shortly after the largely new City Council reconvenes early next month.

Her proposal is patterned after the one the Seattle City Council unanimously approved on Monday, and follows similar bans passed by Bellingham, Mukilteo and Edmonds. She’s also working with Environment Washington, the group that helped pass the Seattle ban, and Town & Country Market, which has been promoting reusable bags for years.

But the inspiration for Hytopoulos’ proposal came – at least in small part – from a viral Heal the Bay-produced mockumentary. Entitled the “Majestic Plastic Bag,” the short video (above) follows the lifespan of a plastic bag as it completes its migration from a grocery store parking lot to the Texas-size wad of plastic floating in the Pacific Ocean.

“It’s horrible and it’s funny,” Hytopoulos said. “I may try to get the council to bear with me and watch it.”