Readers React: Try charging a dime for plastic bags

To the editor: I am one of the few people who recycled plastic bags when I was not given the choice of paper bags and one of the many thousands whose signatures resulted in a measure to reverse the preposterous charge for using paper bags. (“Californians must show their resolve on plastic-bag ban,” editorial, Feb. 25)

For decades, the cost of paper bags was (and still is) built into grocery prices, but for reasons far below the merits of banning plastic bags, they now cost a dime. If “accepting the minor inconvenience involved” is really minor, then why charge a dime for a hitherto free, biodegradable paper bag?

Until the ban, I always requested paper bags, which I then used to dispose of my trash. Now I buy non-biodegradable plastic trash bags to dispose of my trash. If you want to get rid of plastic bags, charge a dime for each plastic bag and then watch what happens.

John Vickers, West Hills

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