Re: “South Portland poised to adopt 5-cent fee for one-use shopping bags” (Aug. 17):

What’s good for Portland is not necessarily good for South Portland.

How many years have we been training South Portland dog walkers to “scoop the poop”? So now what do they scoop it into? Paper or plastic?

It used to be that free plastic bags were conveniently located at the entrance to trails, parks and beaches. Imagine how many 5-cent vending machines will be needed to replace the once-free bags.

South Portland has a wonderful beach that is shared with many four-legged friends. Most people pick up after their dogs; others don’t bother. Perhaps they might be the ones who don’t take their grandchildren to swim at Willard Beach anyway, so the water quality there is a moot issue.

If dog walkers are not willing to pay 5 cents a bag at every grocery, that leaves only your lawn and mine – in which case, most of the runoff flows directly in Casco Bay untreated. (And consider all the dogs on medications for distemper, parvovirus, heartworms, fleas and ticks.)

Right now, some of the feces is being scooped, bagged and sent to the landfill. Imagine every lawn littered, or imagine every third corner with a solar-powered doggie destroy-lette. Wouldn’t it make more sense to reinforce the “scoop the poop” campaign as opposed to the “au naturel” approach?

And finally, will the 5 cents for each bag be enough to pay for the street lights to be turned back on in South Portland, so we don’t step in “it”?

Jan Corey

South Portland