Tacoma: Let's wean ourselves off plastic

Re: A proposed plastic bag ban in Tacoma.

When I lived in France years ago, I observed the shopping techniques of my neighbors. No grocer would supply any bag for purchases, except for the butcher who wrapped meat in waxed paper while the fishmonger used newspaper.

Every shopper carried a basket or satchel. There was a pattern: One first purchased bottles of wine or vinegar, perhaps a rare can. On top of these one placed potatoes, carrots, then more delicate items like berries. Next, a head of lettuce and eggs, purchased singly, were nestled among the leaves. The shopper thrust a baguette through the handles and started home.

On a return visit years later, I noted that plastic bags had arrived, but you paid for each one. The gourmet French seemed to prefer spending their money on food rather than on bags, and most carried a tote with a fashionable logo, although some old satchels were were still in use.

As we debate plastic bags as well as a methanol plant proposed to help the Chinese produce more plastic, should we consider weaning ourselves away from plastic?

Plastic can mean cheap and convenient, but at a price. A few of us remember life before plastic; it is possible.

This story was originally published February 11, 2016 at 2:14 PM with the headline "Tacoma: Let's wean ourselves off plastic."