February 26, 2009

ValleyViewpoints

Not enough thought on plastic grocery bag ban

Editor,
I heard that Nancy Pyle endorses the idea that the use of supermarket bags should be discouraged by requiring stores to charge for them because the bags are an environmental nuisance and potential hazard.

The promoters of this idea have not thought through the problems sufficiently. People carry home their groceries in plastic or paper bags and then use the bags to hold trash. Discouraging the use of bags will cause consumers to use plastic trash bags, which are designed to a much higher standard of durability and will last at least 10 times as long as supermarket bags.

It would be much better to solve the problem by requiring the bag suppliers to make the bags out of material that is rapidly biodegradable. We should use common sense and technology to solve the problem, and not make the problem worse by thoughtless imposition of bad ideas.

Also, we should be suspicious of ulterior motives. It is not likely that the city, indeed the state, wants to force supermarkets to adopt a silly idea so that when the consumer plays for supermarket bags they will have to pay sales tax on the bag purchase.

Lyn Reynolds
Almaden Valley

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