To the Editor:

The town ordinance known as the bag ban should not be repealed. It has been effective at stopping the mess on the sides of Newtown streets. It’s popular, and is not seen as a problem by most people or businesses in town.

A few years ago, walking down a street in Newtown, I couldn’t help but think that some sloppy person thought they were at the transfer station. Plastic bags were everywhere! We looked like a big city or an off ramp from a major highway. What a relief it’s been to have Newtown look like a beautiful small town again. The garbage loving people who didn’t want clean streets in the first place want us to go back to seeing yucky plastic everywhere.

The ten cent charge on paper bags is a frail excuse for eliminating the ban. I’ve heard no one complain about it; it’s simply not a burden. Businesses haven’t left Newtown. The idea that people are traveling to shop in another town so they can come back and throw out their litter in plastic bags is a joke. People I know have adopted a pleasant reusable bag habit. I love my reusable bags; they stay nice and clean. Some of them provide free advertising for the companies, so they're good for business.

The state ban allows the use of thicker bags, which are often discarded after a single use. If we stick to our own ordinance, we won’t have to return to seeing ugly plastic litter everywhere.

Let’s keep this good, popular commitment to our environment, and not foolishly abandon an important guideline to help maintain our town’s character. Let’s keep our plastic bag ban/clean street ordinance!

Edward Randall

Newtown