To the Editor:Bee, entitled "A Tax On Paper Bags?" I agree with the author that plastic bags should be banned in large markets and retail stores, but I'd like to address his concern that the mandatory ten cent charge for paper is unnecessary and a potential government overreach.and the paper bag fee. This combination has proven to be an effective step in reaching the end goal, which is overall trash reduction.

This is in response to a letter in last week's

The fact is that plastic bag bans have been implemented in various forms in this country and all over the world for over a decade. Experience has shown that when there is not a corresponding fee for paper bags, people just switch to paper, which is a poor alternative to plastic. We end up paying the "hidden cost" of paper bags. Not only are they more expensive than plastic, but paper bags have a negative impact on our natural resources as well.

However, when there is a mandatory charge for paper, people are much quicker to adopt the habit of using reusable bags, which is the desired alternative. After a short adjustment period, paper bag fee collection drops dramatically because people see the benefits of switching to reusable bags. Everyone wins. Supermarkets spend less on single-use bags, we use fewer natural resources producing bags that will almost immediately be thrown away, and there is that much less trash to deal with, which translates into cost savings for citizens - trash management is expensive!

A side benefit to this method is that once people start thinking about reducing shopping bags, we naturally start thinking about reducing other kinds of plastic and disposable products in our lives. As the author of last week's letter wisely pointed out, there is a lot of plastic inside the shopping bag, and it's a good idea to find ways to avoid it whenever possible.

For these reasons, I think the fee is an appropriate and necessary use of public policy, and I support the plastic bag ban

Thank you,

Lisa Rioni

7 Juniper Road, NewtownMay 15, 2018