To the editor:

Concerning a single-use plastic bag ban for Lawrence I have a mixed attitude.

On the con side is the fact the bags are useful, and their most likely alternatives are cardboard boxes and paper sacks that also are not entirely environmentally friendly because somewhere trees must be cut down to eventually yield paper products. Also, a greater emphasis could be put on recycling single-use plastic bags. Furthermore, nest-building squirrels and birds might actually oppose the ban because they sometimes use discarded bags in their nest building, and bags not utilized in this way eventually biodegrade, though slower and somewhat uglier than paper bags.

Supporting arguments for the ban include criticism of the hydrocarbon industries that manufacture the bags, and the fact that some animals in the world might be injured by bags that litter the environment. Large fish in lakes, for example, might develop health problems from swallowing bags. And so, in my opinion, the jury is still out on this issue. As a long-time Lawrence resident I can live with whatever city leaders decide. I do hope a few things I have pointed out here are due some consideration, and if our leaders decide not to ban single-use plastic bags this would not be an environmental catastrophe.

Charles Gilmore,

Lawrence