For all the resources they use and damage they cause, plastic shopping bags are used for an average of just 12 minutes.

The city of Rye, in Westchester County, is implementing a ban on retail checkout plastic bags -- the first city to do so in the county and one of the first in New York

After the Rye City Council voted unanimously to eliminate plastic bags back in December, the ordinance is set to take effect over the next few weeks.

Non-biodegradable plastic bags often are discarded into the environment and end up polluting our waterways, clogging sewers, endangering marine life and causing unsightly litter. These bags last hundreds of years in landfills and are a potential source of harmful chemicals when they do break down.

Rye's ban only applies to retail plastic bags at the point of sale. The ban does not affect dry-cleaning bags or plastic delicatessen bags. Local merchants were also given six months to deplete their stock of plastic bags before the ban takes effect.

Rye new law is also a part of a broader campaign to educate the public about unnecessary single use disposables, encourage the local community to use reusable bags, and inspire other communities to follow suit.