To the editor:

Plastic does not break down. Paper bags will break down, but that is a lot of trees.

When going to the grocery store, stop using plastic bags for anything. I don’t use produce bags at the store any longer — directly to the cart. Take a box or two or total cloth sacks and a cooler with you. Yes, we do these things. If I forget my shopping gear, the groceries go on the seats then I head home and the food survives.

Some grocery chains no longer offer plastic sacks and instead encourage “bring your own.” When checking out simply ask the sacker to put your groceries back in the cart. Then you load groceries in the boxes and cooler(s) that are in your car. Or take the cooler in with you.

Bottled water is a huge problem. An article recently stated that water bottles used in a week would wrap around the planet five times. Most plastic water bottles are not recycled.

Most bottled water is no different than tap water. So why not buy an aluminum/stainless container or two and fill them up? A thermos bottle for coffee instead of Styrofoam cups. People say they are expensive. Forty dollars is far better than several hundred to a thousand dollars a year for plastic-bottled water. Yes, consumers unknowingly spend that much over a 12-month period.