“Sustainable”
shopping bags,
imposed on us
by many ignorant
politicians,
can sustain
COVID-19,
and other
viruses.
Bans on single-use
plastic grocery bags
are unsanitary.
Researchers have
warned for years
about the risks
of these tote bags
spreading viral and
bacterial diseases.
In New York State,
a new law took effect
this month banning
single-use plastic bags
in most retail businesses.
And now
N.Y. State
Democrat
legislators
are advancing
a bill to force
coffee shops
to accept
consumers’
reusable cups
—a practice
Starbucks and
other chains had
wisely suspended
to avoid spreading
the COVID-19 virus.
John Flanagan,
Republican leader
of the New York
State Senate,
criticized the
proposed new
legislation, and
called for a
suspension of
the law banning
plastic bags.
Grocery shoppers
should wash their
reusable bags
regularly, which
few people do.
Because viruses
and bacteria
can survive
in the tote bags
up to nine days,
according to
one study of
coronaviruses.
A 2018 study
published in
the Journal of
Environmental
Health, led by
Ryan Sinclair
of the Loma Linda
University School
of Public Health,
sent shoppers into
three California
grocery stores
carrying only
polypropylene
plastic tote bags,
sprayed with a
harmless surrogate
of a virus.
After the shoppers
bought groceries,
and checked out,
researchers found
high enough traces
of the surrogate
to risk transmission,
on:
(1) the hands of the
shoppers,
(2) the hands of the
checkout clerks,
(3) packaged foods,
(4) unpackaged produce,
(5) shopping carts,
(6) checkout counters, and
(7) touch screens used
to pay for groceries.
An earlier study,
of supermarkets,
done in Arizona
and California,
found large numbers
of bacteria in almost
all the reusable bags,
and NO contamination
in any single-use
plastic bags.
Researchers found
the vast majority
of shoppers never
washed their
reusable bags.
Researcher
Charles Gerba,
of the University
of Arizona, said
that the findings
“suggest a
serious threat
to public health.”
Fecal coliform
bacteria
were found
in half the bags!
These bacteria were
probably transferred
from raw meat, fish
or poultry in the bag.
Common sense
tells us to use
ONLY plastic bags
for raw meat,
fish and poultry.
A headline
on the website
of the New York
Department
of Health
calls reusable
grocery bags
a “Smart Choice”,
but then cautions
grocery shoppers
to:
(1)
segregate
different foods
in different bags;
( package meat
and fish and poultry
in small disposable
plastic bags inside
their tote bags );
(2)
wash and dry
their tote bags
carefully;
(3)
store their tote bags
in a cool, dry place,
and
(4)
never reuse their
grocery tote bags
for anything but food.
(1) through (4)
do not add up to
a “smart choice”
for public health !
Disposable plastic
bags are safest
and cheapest
way to prevent
foodborn illnesses.
Also, the bans
on plastic bags
mean more trash
in landfills, because
paper bags take up
much more space
in landfills than
thin disposable
plastic bags.