Try washing cloth bags

Dear Editor:As I grow close to another year on this Earth, I am trying to deliver my opinions, both verbal and written, in a more civil manner. That is not to say that this letter should not be taken without the norm-al dose of sarcasm!In response to Sue Driggers letter, In defense of plastic bags, May 30, I throw in my 2 cents, plus tax, to Mrs. Driggers.I, too, reuse plastic bags from the grocery store around my house. They are great to wrap a paintbrush and keep it fresh until I finish the painting the next day. I chop half an onion and put it in a bag instead of using a new sandwich bag. I take dog food for overnight trips in them, etc. Sue, you seem like an intelligent woman. Are you familiar with the invention of the clothes washer and dryer? If you put a canvas or cloth bag in this contraption with some laundry soap (soap can be acquired at the same store that gives you the plastic or paper bags) and wash on warm, the bags come out clean and contaminate free. If you use cloth bags and throw them away, then you are contributing more waste to the landfill. The point of canvas/ cloth bags is to reuse them. You want health problems, then look at the sponge in your kitchen sink under a microscope! Thats yuk, yuk! Throw the sponge in the dishwasher and that will help with the yuk.There is a plastic bag recycle can at the Carbondale City Market back by the customer service counter. Most trash companies dont even take cardboard. You think they want to add plastic bag recycle to my already healthy waste bill? Instead, I combust some petroleum fuel in my nonelectric auto and drive it to Pitkin County landfill on my way to work in Aspen. I am already driving that way since I cannot ride the RFTA with a lot of tools. Trying to do my part!My solution: Most American consumers are trained to buy things that support corporate business. The instilled mentality is to buy more and you will be happier and successful. What is wrong with your old cell phone, iPod, car or whatever? Nothing! There is just a new one out, and if you buy it, then you will be fulfilled and happier. It is wrong to train me on paper or plastic? and then decades later take away that choice. But with the environmental concerns that face us today, something (if not lots of things) need to change! So, continue to offer paper or plastic options. But rather then giving me a laughable 5-cent credit for bringing my own bag, charge me 5 dollars to not bring my own reusable bag! Then the store can contribute 50 percent of that $5 to an environmental nonprofit of its choice. Choices! Is that not one of the great ideals of a free and democratic society? John Norm NormanCarbondale