To the Editor:

Princeton Council should pass an ordinance that significantly reduces single-use bags — carry-out bags at points-of-sale — and make Princeton the first New Jersey municipality to enact an ordinance to diminish such waste.

Princetonians voted in November by an overwhelming majority, in every voting district, to eliminate our dangerous dependence on plastic bags. Princeton Council should heed us. In 2011 Borough Council and Township Committee both passed formal resolutions calling for significant reduction in single-use bags; the campaign to reduce bag use has continued since then.

The imposition of a fee is the very best means of helping the buying public to change their habits; the fee is an educational device, legally in place across the nation (from California to Connecticut to Washington D.C.; see surfrider.org). Princeton should not lag behind the nation.

Princeton’s merchants should be required to charge a fee for each single-use carry out bag (between $.10 and $.25 cents) and should keep the money for purchasing new reusable bags for distribution or for bookkeeping purposes.

Any viable ordinance will include a social justice clause that exempts people who struggle with economic hardship; their identity will not be known at check-out. (The Mercer County referendum in November had this provision).

Reusable, already recycled bags will be distributed free of charge to such individuals; or they will be given bags made from paper that is already recycled or paper that is recyclable. A plastic bag cannot be recycled without a top-heavy percentage of new plastic material.

The argument that shoppers will drive (many) miles elsewhere — avoid a charge if they forget to bring their own bags — has no credibility. For an example: if you spend $100 a week for groceries (and forget to bring your own reusable bags), will you really baulk at $.50 more (a charge for 5 bags)?

The average New Jersey citizen uses 500 single-use bags annually. Spread them on your living room floor. Say: “No.”

Many of us oppose America’s ravenous dependence on fossil fuels. The Wall Street Journal reported (2008) that Americans alone use 12 billion plastic bags per year, at a fossil-fuel cost of 12 million barrels. Since then, the figures have worsened. Plastic bag recycling will never overcome the rate of production. Despite what the American Chemical Council claims, recycled bags equal less than 8 percent of new bags generated each year.

Princetonians work to save acres of trees that store the hazardous carbon dioxide that is a chief cause of climate change. Now oppose wasteful plastics that leach hazardous chemicals into the earth, the air, our bodies. Ensure that our sewers are unclogged by plastic bags so that stormwater runoff can be managed with less expense to the municipality — and thus, a better allocation of our taxes.

Princeton Council should pass an ordinance that reflects Princeton’s values, its achievement of Sustainable Silver status in New Jersey, and its ongoing efforts to control food waste, leaf waste, and energy conservation.

Bring Your Own Bag. Write to Council members. Come to Council meetings; make your support known.

Daniel A. Harris

Dodds Lane