On Dec. 19, the Seattle City Council voted to ban the use of plastic bags, and also, they would add a tax of 5 cents per paper bag. This tax is to be collected by the merchants.

The City Council said the reason for the restriction on plastic bags was that potentially some of them might end up in the Puget Sound and cause a hazard to fish, turtles, birds and other wildlife. It might be well to point out that there are arguments on the other side of this question. The manufacture of plastic bags requires much less energy than for paper bags. Plastic bags take up much less space in a landfill. Plastic bags are reusable. Plastic bags are made of natural gas, which is very plentiful in this country.

I hope that the City Council of Federal Way does not follow in the footsteps of Seattle.

Leo J. Thoennes, Federal Way