I am a disgruntled consumer. For a year now, I’ve tracked the defect rate of Portland city trash bags. My findings demand a cease-production order! Since last winter, I have lined my kitchen garbage with a city trash bag 84 times; 40 of these bags tore, ripped and/or leaked during the installation or removal phase.

These bags are complete trash – worth less than the refuse that my fiancée and I dispose of. Under no circumstances are they commensurate with the $3-a-bag price tag, especially with a 40-count pack of Hefty Ultra Strongs available on Amazon at a net cost of 18 cents per (with a nice citrus scent, too).

Sure, the city has reasons. These bags are expensive because trash pickup is expensive. The policy also nudges residents into reducing waste and increasing recycling. I totally get it. That said, these facts hardly justify what the city of Portland has imposed: a low-budget trash-bag monopoly.

This is far from the largest crisis faced by our city, but it’s certainly the one closest to our kitchens. To effect true change, voices must be heard. I hereby call on all Mainers to act now. The time has come to express our discontent. One letter will affect little, but collectively, our efforts may one day allow us to live in a city where we can reliably use $3 trash bags on a semi-weekly basis without fear of leaving trails of raw chicken juice and coffee grounds in our wake!

Matt Steege
Portland

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