Re: “Denver council looking at 5-cent fee on disposable grocery bags,” April 22 news story.
Several years ago during a short visit to Germany, I was surprised after checking out in a grocery store to find my groceries piled in a heap at the end of the line. I perplexedly looked toward the cashier, who was already checking out the next customer. She said words which I translated hopefully to mean, “Would you like to buy a bag?” I gladly parted with the equivalent of about 25 cents for two plastic bags, into which I stuffed my purchases.
During the next week I carefully guarded and reused the sturdy little bags many times, and when I finally packed up to leave my boardinghouse room, I crushed my week’s debris into them and tossed them into the trash on my way out.
And I never saw a plastic bag fluttering in the breeze along any roadside in Germany.
Cindy Henk, Livermore
This letter was published in the April 29 edition.
Those floppy reusable shopping bags are just not fun to load up or unload once you’re home. I’ve found that laundry basket-size totes solve that problem and perhaps may help others make the switch away from accepting plastic bags when grocery shopping. I’ve successfully used King Sooper’s wonderful corrugated box totes with handles for more than 20 years. They are inexpensive and turn out to be great for many other outings as well.
More recently I’ve purchased some nice plastic totes that I can give the occasional disinfectant wipe to keep them clean. The trick is keeping them in the trunk or remembering to take them with you when heading off to the store. That’s not hard when you believe we have way too much packaging in this wonderful world.
Maddi Scott, Westminster
This letter was published in the April 29 edition.
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