John and Ann Christenson of 100Grannies.org from Iowa City draw out a line of hundreds of tied-together plastic bags on the pedestrian mall in Iowa City Sunday, Sept. 9, 2012 for the Ban the Bags Rally. Passerby were encouraged to sign a petition for banning plastic bags in the Iowa City/Coralville area. (Justin Torner/Freelance)

A group of grannies is urging Iowa City to ban plastic bags to help the environment.

KWWL-TV reports that the group “100 Grannies for a Livable Future” spent National Grandparents Day Sunday encouraging others to go green. Their goal is to get the city to ban plastic bags.

As shoppers walked through downtown Iowa City, the group offered to trade reusable bags for plastic ones.

The group used the plastic bags they collected to make a chain, showing how much waste goes into landfills when the bags aren’t recycled. Event organizer Becky Ross says people can used to life without plastic.

For more, check out the group’s Web site, 100grannies.org