That unintended consequence thingy was already coming back to bite and now even more so. The reusables are dirty and in fact dangerous to most who use them. And now in a time of this virus all such bans need to be lifted immediately and never put back in place. The Plastic Bag Ban Backfires New York’s environmentalists have terrible timing. The statewide ban on single-use plastic bags took effect on March 1, the same day New York confirmed its first case of coronavirus. To protect the public, officials in the Empire State and elsewhere should immediately suspend their plastic bag bans...... ....Experience shows the risks. In 2013 millions of American piglets died amid an outbreak of novel swine enteric coronavirus disease, and after an investigation the U.S. Department of Agricultureconcluded that reusable feed totes were the most likely root cause. The feed bags are often made of the same kind of material as reusable shopping bags. ....Researchers at the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University surveyed grocery shoppers and randomly tested their reusable bags. “Large numbers of bacteria were found in almost all bags and coliform bacteria in half,” they wrote in their 2011 study, funded in part by the American Chemistry Council and published in Food Protection Trends. No wonder, since the majority of shoppers said they rarely or never washed them. https://www.wsj.com/articles/the-plastic-bag-ban-backfires-11584399666?mod=opinion_lead_pos4
Don't the supermarkets all provide large brown paper bags for shoppers???Something we ALL used years ago before introduction of plastic bags.
Environmentalists argue that paper bags are just a means of getting around the issue, aka a loophole. Had the ban been completely what environmentalists wanted, they would have been banned too. Same thing with "heavy duty plastic bags". Can the OP cite the entire article? It's behind a pay wall. And the study clearly says the problem is people aren't washing their bags. Wash the bags, get rid of the problem. Which thank you for bringing to my attention. Now I have to go wash my reusable bags.
Plastic bags aren't biodegradable, brown paper bags are. They do not pollute every ocean in the world, as anything plastic does.
That's a simple and easy solution but some people have a problem bathing much less washing shopping bags.
Well the environmentalist complained about the trees and the paper making process. The plastic are much cheaper too.
Not without getting a warning from the Mods. And how much energy and water and chemicals does it take to wash and dry the reusables?
Nope, the lunatic left greenies got all the paper bags canned to 'save the forests'. A little behind, aren't you?
I liked the paper brown bags from when I was younger, but agree, re-usable bags are not safe or sanitary let people\businesses choose for themselves regardless I would also say "reusable feed totes" are way way dirtier than peoples reusable bags, so not a real comparison, but on a lesser degree is the same
Brown paper was a big customer of mine for many years and the timberlands were great for the environment. WalMart used to have them out in the frozen section because they could keep food colder longer but I don't even see those anymore.
And they were great for the forest and environment. They grew the super trees, pine trees that grew fast and could be harvested in 10 - 15 years. Not good for lumber but for paper they were great. And that vigarous growth was a huge carbon sink. The best places to hunt, those managed lands because the the wildlife loved them and flourished in them. BUT THE TREES AND THEIR FEELINGS!!!
I usually get paper now and keep em tucked away for camp fires. I used to get plastic for cleaning the litterbox, but the cat doesnt use it ever since I got him his own RFID activated kitty door...
Doesn't this also apply to purses and phones? Should we So people should wash their reusable bags or use recyclable plastic or paper bags. Good to know. Better than covering our planet with garbage and not reusing our limited oil reserves in plastic.
I would postulate that manufacturing and then washing and drying your reusable bag takes more energy than using a plastic disposable.
"In the United States, plastics are not made from crude oil. They are manufactured from petroleum products, which include liquid petroleum gases (LPG) and natural gas liquids (NGL), and natural gas. LPG are by-products of petroleum refining and natural gas processing, and NGL are removed from natural gas before it enters transmission pipelines. These fuels are used as feedstocks to make the plastic and as fuels in the manufacturing process." https://plasticpyrolysisplants.com/much-oil-used-make-plastic/
At least in Giant food stores they still have paper bags. They don't ask 'paper or plastic' anymore though. You have to ask first.
Publix ask "will plastic bags be OK" I usually just knee jerk say yes but am going to start requesting paper if they have.
I liked it much better when the man said metaphorically, "Okay, put on the feed bag people," and you grabbed a plate heading toward the grill.
