An unwelcome wave I see coming

I resent the implication that all consumers who get their groceries bagged in the plastic offered are then going home and releasing them into the wild to blow into trees and clog city water drains and stick on fences. While I used to answer 'paper' to the ubiquitous question of 'paper or plastic?', I'm rarely given the choice now. It's always plastic. I adjusted to that. I take my plastic home and I--hold your breath, eco-people--recycle it.

Yes, that's right, there are people who resent the fact that 1) plastic bags may disappear altogether or 2) I'll have to start paying a nickel or more for every one I take from the store. The latter is the impetus for this little rant because it's been a news story on the local ABC channel I watch. And, since they recycle their broadcasts, I've seen it twice. Who knows how many more times it'll surface?

So, what do I do with my 'free' bags, the ones I'll have to buy replacements for if they disappear? They line my bathroom and utility room wastebaskets, so I don't have to wash them out all the time, thus saving the resource known as water. I use them to lift out the kitty offerings in the litter pan. If I had a dog, I'd use them to lift his offerings off the public byways too, unlike many dog-walkers around here, who merely leave it where it's left. I use the bags to put kitchen refuse in and tie securely so no little multi-legged creatures can make big homes in my trash bin. When there's a charity sale and the call goes out for bags to put merchandise in, I contribute.

Not being a bad citizen here, just doing my part in the recycle business. I guess we have to ask ourselves who benefits when/if plastic bags go away. Certainly the environment without all the plastic blowing in the wind, but also the companies who make the bags we'll have to buy to replace the ones we bought our purchases home in? Or, do they go away, too?