Why do these super-sized corporations still promote plastic bags? One local store never gives out plastic bags, but there are free cardboard boxes at the checkout for those of us who forget our reusable bags. What a great, obvious solution! The other stores surely have ample cardboard boxes that could be given to their customers. Education about the environmental risks and waste of our resources is clearly not enough to change our behavior as individuals, or that of big corporations. I praise Durango City Council for taking action regarding this issue – not by banning plastic bags but by simply asking the people who want them to pay for them.

I think it is fair that I not be forced to pay for other people’s plastic bags; let them pay for their own bags if they cannot do without. The cost of these bags in our environment has a number, and it is not zero, so attaching a fee is appropriate, so that the users pay at least part of the real costs. The fee on single-use plastic bags is not the same as a ban. People can still have as many bags as they want. You just pay for them, like you pay for all the other things you value. Please support our City Council in its efforts to reduce the use of single-use plastic bags.

Mip van Suchtelen

Durango