To the Editor:

Heads up, Newtown! The Legislative Council is drafting legislation defining the only acceptable checkout bags that Newtown businesses would be allowed to provide to customers. As currently drafted, any checkout bags deemed to be unacceptable (plastic and some paper) will be banned, and businesses will be forced to charge you at least 10 cents per bag for acceptable paper checkout bags.

This is very concerning for a number of reasons.

First, what gives the Legislative Council the legal authority to prohibit something that Newtown businesses freely provide to their customers — something their customers find useful?

While the ordinance claims its purpose is “to improve the environment in Newtown and the health, safety, and welfare of its residents,” it would do just the opposite.

Environment: Conventional wisdom on plastic checkout bags is upside-down. Study after study analyzing the life cycle of various types of bags find that plastic bags use the fewest resources and cause the least environmental impact. For example, a recent Danish EPA study found organic cotton bags to be the most environmentally destructive — an organic cotton bag would need to be used every day for over 54 years to compete with a plastic bag reused just once, considering water pollution, energy use, and 12 other environmental categories.

Health and Safety: The “reusable bags” encouraged by the ordinance pose health hazards, as they’d be a breeding ground for bacteria if not washed after use (as recommended by the CDC), especially if stored in a hot car. (Convenient, right?) Especially at-risk for foodborne illnesses would be the elderly, pregnant women, young children, and those with compromised immune systems. (Note: Emergency room visits and deaths due to foodborne illness spiked in San Francisco County after their bag ban went into effect, with similar findings in other California jurisdictions banning bags.)

Welfare: Instead of reusing our plastic checkout bags for a variety of purposes, including to line our trash cans, we’d now need to purchase our own single-use plastic trash bags (which have a greater impact on the environment), in addition to purchasing, washing, and storing “reusable bags.” This would particularly impact lower income residents and the disabled. (See Priscilla Loewenstine’s letter, 11/16/18.)

There’s the real possibility of eroding the commercial tax base, which would increase our individual property taxes. I, for one, would no longer grocery shop in Newtown and likely avoid shopping in Newtown altogether. My guess is new businesses will opt not to open in Newtown, and others might leave — too much red tape.

This ordinance should concern you, whether you use plastic checkout bags or not. It will harm Newtown’s environment and residents, and it sets a dangerous precedent of using the force of law to arbitrarily dictate our behaviors. Bags banned today — what’s tomorrow?

If you believe that we should remain free to choose what’s in the best interests of our families and the environment, now is the time to voice your opinion to the Legislative Council. (newtown-ct.gov/legislative-council).

Sincerely,

Cathy Reiss

42 Obtuse Road, Newtown          February 12, 2019