The Sun Journal’s recent editorial entitled “A nickel for your plastics?” was shortsighted because it failed to recognize how important it is to reduce plastic bag use from grocery stores.

Every time people bring a plastic bag home and dispose of it in the trash, that bag ultimately makes its way into a landfill as waste. Most plastic bags from the grocery store are not biodegradable, and will release toxins over time in the ground, which ultimately pollute our lakes, streams and landfills.

While some may disagree with the bill I proposed to put a small fee on plastic bags to address this problem, the legislation does provide consumers with choices. First, a shopper can simply request a paper option instead of plastic and pay no fee.

While Maine paper companies no longer produce paper bags in Maine, their partner companies do in other states. Choosing this option would support our forest products industry, which is ultimately good for Maine.

Secondly, consumers can bring in their own canvas tote to avoid creating unnecessary waste altogether. Finally, if consumers prefer plastic, then a small fee to support recycling programs would be added.

It’s clear that a bag deposit like the Sun Journal suggested would be ineffective because a version of that idea has already been tried and failed. The Hannaford chain recently ended a program providing shoppers with a five-cent credit for bags they brought in for their own groceries due to low participation.

While we know that plastic bags are ultimately bad for the environment, we also know that they impact our energy consumption as well because fossil fuels are ultimately used in their manufacturing. If you consider the near $5 gallon in oil and gas we paid last year, then reducing the amount of oil we use for any reason should still be a top priority. This is especially true since the source of much of our oil comes from the Middle East.

It is also important to point out that landfills across our state are running out of space, and nobody wants a new landfill built in their backyard. Lastly, the Androscoggin River already have enough problems with sewage dumped into it from Lewiston and Auburn – so reducing the use of toxic products is important here, and all around Maine, when possible, to ensure a clean and healthy environment.

With this knowledge, helping consumers choose paper over plastic or re-using canvas totes over toxic plastic ones seems like a smart choice.

Sen. John Nutting, D-Leeds.