Ellen Farnum: Support bills against plastic straws and plastic bags

To the editor:

Plastic bags are one of the most common and widespread forms of litter and take up a lot of space in our local landfills. Almost all of the plastic bags you use will be in the environment for hundreds of years. You can reuse your plastic bags, but most cannot be cleanly and economically recycled. Once in the landfill, plastic bags do not decompose, rather they break down through a process known as photodegradation. This process can contaminate water and has an adverse impact on not only humans, but on wildlife in forests, rivers and oceans. In addition, plastic bags are made from a non-renewable petroleum product.