Recently, some people have used the argument that single-use plastic bags are better for the environment than cloth bags (“Anger flares over Waterville’s plastic bag ordinance debate,” Aug. 21). The rationale given is because once a plastic bag is used for groceries, it can then be used again for cleaning up after your dog or lining garbage and diaper pails. The bag becomes a double-use plastic bag.

However, the cloth bags I have been using for the past 10 years are still employed in multiple ways, lugging groceries, hardware supplies, clothing, and just about any items I purchase that will fit in the bag. For 10 years these same bags have traveled about town, with no damage to the environment.

Look around you. Plastic bags are trapped in tree branches, littering our sidewalks, and causing irreparable damage to the ocean and marine organisms. How many cloth bags do you see draped in the bushes?

Please vote responsibly and ask big-box stores to stop providing single-use bags.

Judi Silver

Waterville


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