In response to Ryan Lizanecz (letter, Aug. 3), why not go back to paper bags? They self-destruct and trees are a renewable, sustainable resource. There are a lot of them in Maine. There are still some paper mills and lots of experienced workers. Paper can be a used as mulch, even bedding for animals simply by shredding. It composts well. In my own experience, worms love it. So do strawberries.

Trees do not deplete the atmosphere and, due to gained wisdom and hindsight, people know more about human effect.

If the infrastructure and labor force don’t have to be started from ground zero, it might be that the process of making paper could be improved.

Having more people employed would improve the tax base far more than charging another tax on those who must pinch pennies already.

Re-usable bags and paper are a match made in heaven for those of us experiencing age-related muscle tone degeneration. Weight of contents is distributed better (in my experience).

I will relate an interesting incident. In 1979, I moved south to take a better-paying job. When I left, there was a cleaner’s bag (plastic) stuck in a 40-foot tree in my yard. When I came back, six years later, though tattered and torn by the wind, it was still there.

Suzanne Bottomley, Oxford

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