To the editor: Both during the pandemic and again more recently while recuperating from surgery, I have had to rely on delivery service for my groceries, which resulted in my accruing of those thick plastic bags. (“ Yes, California must ban plastic grocery bags — again ,” editorial, Aug. 5) As your editorial correctly points out, I couldn’t just toss them into the recycling bin (it would be pointless for me to do so), and I couldn’t reuse them at the store, because delivery necessitates new bags for every order.
What I did with the pandemic-era bags — and what I will do with my latest stock once I am out and about again — is donate them to a local food bank. They are always in need of bags, and those who depend on food banks are probably more likely to reuse them many times before they become unusable (such is the mindset of anyone forced to make do with fewer resources). I would urge everyone who has a pile of these thick plastic bags to do likewise.
Recycling is important, and so is reusing, but too often we forget about repurposing. Kymberleigh Richards, Van Nuys ..
To the editor: Thank you for highlighting the absurdity of our existing policies on “recyclable plastic bags.” How did the minor detail that the new, thicker bags are not in fact recyclable ever get overlooked by the lawmakers who enacted California’s ban in 2016? Add to that the fact that consumers are charged 10 cents per bag, which we were led to believe went to help recycling efforts. In.