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Starting in six months, retailers in this well-to-do coastal town will be required to use only paper or reusable bags. If they don’t they could face fines of $150 or more. Town meeting representative Jonathan Cunitz, who supports the ban, says plastic bags accumulate in the ocean, harming marine life.

"We have a major river in the town, streams, of course long island sound and when plastic bags end up in the water they last forever," says Cunitz.

Some opponents to the ban would rather see a small tax on bags. Others prefer educating the consumer to recycle, rather than ban them. San Francisco, Los Angeles and the island of Maui have also banned plastic bags.