Proposed Baltimore County bag ban may not hold much merit

So, Baltimore County is thinking of banning plastic bags, and then levying a fee of 10 cents per bag (paper or reusable) on consumers (“Baltimore County lawmakers introduce measure to ban plastic bag sales,” Jan. 3). I have to tell you, I’m not bending over to pick up a dime, so I’m certainly not going to worry about paying an extra 70 or 80 cents on weekly trips to the grocery store. If they actually want people to cut back on single use bags, I’d say $2 a bag would probably be effective.

I’m not sure how many additional trees will need to be felled to keep up with the increased demand for paper bags, but I bet it won’t be insignificant. If you’re worried about climate change, cutting down more trees is the last thing you want to do. But, as usual, government knows best.

— Marc Wisner, Parkville