Letter to the editor: Plastic bags are a bad habit that can be overcome without difficulty

Unlike Nancy Elliott (“Several reasons to oppose plastic bag ban,” letter to the editor, April 24 issue), I welcome the plastic bag ban.

I have been using cotton bags for years. I have used the same bags for many more than the 131 uses that Elliott claims are needed to offset the “global warming impact” of cotton bags. As for the use of water to wash them, it is not necessary. Most of the food we buy is packaged, and when it is not, careful washing of the food gets rid of any bacteria that might have come from the bags.

For years, employees of clothing, hardware, and drug stores (yes, my lettuce goes in the same bag as a pair of shoes or a hammer) have acted surprised when I ask them to put my purchases in my cotton totes. Since the ban, they congratulate me for “remembering my bags.”

Without getting into a discussion of the impact of plastic on the oceans, wildlife, and the beauty of nature, plastic bags are a bad habit that we can overcome without difficulty or inconvenience.

Mardi Musick