Opinion: Stop calling the banned grocery bags ‘single use’

To the editor: I take issue with the content and gleeful tone of your editorial on the plastic bag ban. (“It’s been a year since California banned single-use plastic bags. The world didn’t end,” editorial, Nov. 18)

There is nothing inherently “single use” about these bags. It’s not as if they self-destruct once you get them home. I personally use them numerous times until they give out and then they are recycled. As for the so-called reusable bags, they are expensive and poorly made, usually not surviving a single trip through the washer.

This ban is one of the stupidest laws ever passed in California as it benefits no one and inconveniences everyone. Shopping in California is now always stressful. Even if one does provide one’s own bags, some retailers will not bag your items but will simply return them to the cart for you to bag yourself.

The rest of the country recognizes the inanity of this law. There is a pleasure, at the end of a shopping trip, at being greeted with a cheery, “Paper or plastic?”

Chris Zarow, Crestline, Calif.

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To the editor: Indeed it turned out to be easy to give up throwaway grocery bags. Here is another item your editorial did not mention that is the easiest of all to eliminate: plastic throwaway straws served with your water, iced tea or soda at restaurants.

Twenty years ago, no restaurant served these straws, and now all but the most upscale eateries do. They are instant waste. They are not recyclable. They serve no purpose. If the glass is dirty, the straw won’t protect the customer.

I wish every restaurant at a minimum would ask customers if they want a straw.

Erica Hahn, Monrovia

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