Lacey voted right way to keep plastic bag ban

I congratulate the Lacey mayor, deputy mayor and City Council members who voted to retain the plastic bag ban despite the offer of money to put the issue on the ballot.

We have a representative government elected to pass laws for the good of the community, even in the face of those who may oppose a particular law. Plastic bags litter our landscape, endanger wildlife, accumulate in landfills, and create marine debris in the oceans and other waters. Sure they can be recycled at certain grocery stores or used for cat litter, but how many people do that? Fewer than 5 percent, according to estimates from the EPA.

There is no good reason for retailers to give out single-use plastic bags other than our own refusal to care more about our environment than about our own convenience. If people think they are a good idea, they might look at the photographs of dying sea turtles caught in plastic bags, read about the dead whale on Seattle’s shores with 20 bags in its stomach, or collect the litter on the roadsides, just for starters.

So I had to pay a nickel for a paper bag today when I forgot my reusable bag. I can give it to the food bank and everyone’s a winner.

This story was originally published August 7, 2015 at 5:01 PM with the headline "Lacey voted right way to keep plastic bag ban."