To the Editor:

Princeton has begun to recycle plastic bags and other used plastics — bravo! McCaffrey’s has collected “over 800,000 bags, about 200 pounds, since August 1” (see Nov. 4 Town Topics, pages 7-8). I applaud the coalition of McCaffrey’s with Sustainable Princeton and the Princeton Merchants Association that has made this success possible.

But the only fully responsible aim must be a substantial pre-consumer reduction of single-use plastic bags. Post-consumer recycling cannot curb the toxic manufacture of plastics: carbons and methane released into the atmosphere contribute to dangerous climate change. Recycled bags simply become plastic wood, temporarily saved from landfills. Merchants must also strive to reduce pre-consumer use of single-use paper bags (think of deforestation, flooding).

The coalition’s voluntary program (“Ask First,” “Bring Your Own Bag”) should immediately promote an agreement among all Princeton merchants to reduce the number of single-use bags (plastic and paper) distributed to customers — i.e., reduce consumption. The coalition should devise a method of measuring the reductions achieved; the method should immediately be publicized; a schedule for making periodic announcements of progress should be announced.

I propose that the coalition announce its numbers every six months (at a minimum): April and October 2016. A program without measurements is effectually non-existent; accountability to Princeton is mandatory. Without measurement and accountability, no program can be responsibly evaluated. Obviously, Princetonians need to know the merchants’ baseline for measurements.

Many people know that voluntary programs to reduce consumption of single-use bags have failed (increasing bag-recycling is relatively easy). Municipalities, states, countries around the world have passed laws or ordinances to achieve reduction (most recently, Britain [following Ireland and Wales] and, in New Jersey, Longport, the first, but not the last in our state). FYI: it takes twice as long to drive from downtown Princeton to Wegman’s, Whole Foods, or ShopRite than it does to McCaffrey’s.

The Longport ordinance (imposing a ten-cent fee per bag on customers who forget to bring their own and thus avoid the fee, which is thus not a tax) is similar to the one drafted by Princeton citizens four years ago — but still not put on the Princeton Council agenda. In February, 2015, Mayor Lempert authorized the expenditure of taxpayer funds for Princeton’s legal counsel to vet the draft ordinance; the resulting memorandum indicates that the ordinance, possibly modified, would be legal in New Jersey; Longport has now set the precedent.

I propose that, in fairness, we all assist the coalition’s voluntary program in proving its adequacy for a year from inception. If pre-consumer plastic reduction of at least 50 percent is not achieved by next October, the mayor should put the draft ordinance on the Princeton Council agenda; public input should be solicited, and a working group to achieve a satisfactory draft ordinance should be established. As the November 2016 elections approach, all candidates should make public their views on the ordinance.

“No man is an island”: Princeton, like every community, is responsible to the world.

Daniel A. Harris

Dodds Lane