The fate of the ubiquitous plastic shopping bag continues to generate a lot of interest and correspondence. It's one of those environmental dilemmas everyone can get their fingers around.

Here’s a story in Saturday’s New York Times about the national plastic bag tax (33 cents on each one) in Ireland and how it has helped make the bags about as socially acceptable there as fur coats and failing to clean up after dogs. Other countries and cities have simply banned the bags.

Ireland’s solution is similar to one that had been proposed by a Maine lawmaker. That proposal stalled in Maine, and has now taken a back seat to voluntary efforts to promote reusable bags. It seems a long shot that Maine would follow Ireland’s lead with a tax – no other U.S. state or city has done it – but it may be a matter of time before the idea crosses the Atlantic.

Meanwhile, Suzette Bergeron of Scarborough continues to move ahead with her solution - Bulletin Bags. The simple idea is to sell advertising space on reusable bags so she can make them, print them and distribute them for free. Check out her new Web site here and we’ll keep you posted on her progress.

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