Letter: Charge for grocery bags; don't ban them
Susan Fisher, a cashier at the IGA in Southold helps shopper Carol Pearce from East Marion pack her groceries using the plastic bags that could soon be banned, on Friday, July 25, 2014. Credit: Randee Daddona
While Southampton Supervisor Anna Throne-Holst may have the right idea in attempting to drum up support for a countywide ban on plastic bags, perhaps a middle-of-the-road approach would be more appealing to county legislators ["Give plastic bags serious look," Editorial, Aug. 3].
Instead of a ban, a bag fee would not only discourage the use of plastic bags but increase revenues to county coffers. A fee would also be more appealing to county businesses, which would not be forced by an outright mandate, per se, but could opt not to use plastic bags or, alternatively, pass the fee on to customers who request plastic bags.
The City of Boulder, Colorado, for example, imposes a 10-cent fee on any disposable plastic bag at checkout at a grocery store. The fee applies also to paper bags. The fee would be a less intrusive way to encourage environmentally conscious behavior.
Ryan Dougherty, Sayville
