Are you
using reusable bags for groceries? It seems that the desire to
protect the environment is harming our health. According to, “The Disgusting Consequences of Plastic-Bag Bans” reusable shopping bags can harbor dangerous
diseases. In 2011, researchers examined reusable bags in California and Arizona
and discovered 51 percent of the reusable bags contained coliform bacteria (Ponnuru).
| Acquired At : merleswater.com/bacteria/ |
If you do not know what coliform bacteria are,
they are an “indicator of water contamination and possible presence of
intestinal parasites and pathogens (Treyens).” The presence of these bacteria (right)
is mostly likely due to using the bag repeatedly without washing it.
Furthermore, researchers also determined that leaving the reusable bag in a car
in the heat increased the growth tenfold (Ponnuru). Nevertheless, there was
some good news, if the bags were to be washed it would eliminate 99.9% of the bacteria.
In 2007 San Francisco, California discouraged
plastic bags because it was killing marine life and blocking waterways. In
2012, several other cities including Seattle and Los Angeles also created their
bans against plastic bags (Ponnuru). Surely the plastic-bag industries would
rather prefer not to have these bans.
According to,
Bag the Ban, “Any tax or ban would endanger plastic
recycling…and impact our nation's global competitiveness.” Additionally, a little over 30,000 people are
employed directly by plastic-bag manufactures, and recycling industries (“Bag
the Ban”). So should we return to
plastic bags? Well, ultimately it is up to you. I guess if you use reusable
bags, you run the risk of catching a disease, so wash them regularly if you plan to keep using them.
Works Cited
Ponnuru, Rammesh. "The Disgusting Consequences of
Plastic-Bag Bans." Bloomberg. Bloomberg View, Feb. 2013. Web.
08 Feb. 2013.
http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2013-02-04/the-disgusting-consequences-of-liberal-plastic-bag-bans.html.
"Bag the Ban." Bag the Ban. Hilex
Poly, n.d. Web. 08 Feb. 2013. http://www.bagtheban.com/learn-the-facts/jobs.
Treyens, Cliff. "Bacteria and Private
Wells." On Tap. NGWA, n.d. Web. 5 Feb. 2013.
<http://www.nesc.wvu.edu/pdf/dw/publications/ontap/magazine/OTWI09_features/BacteriaAndPrivateWells.pdf>.
Very informative post. I'm curious to your own personal feelings on this, do you prefer reusable bags to plastic bags? Another issue with reusable bags is the amount of bags you need to bring. I come from a large family, so whenever we go food shopping we have 10+ bags of food we take home with us.
ReplyDeleteHow much would cutting plastic bags really do? Would it have a huge environment impact, or just make it a little more difficult to easily transport groceries?
Good post overall.
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ReplyDeleteI agree with Colin! What are your inclinations, plastic or reusable? I found your quote from the Bag the Ban interesting in the blatant self-promotion of the plastics industry. Don't we have enough plastic products in our environment to begin with? How big is this "plastic bags" industry? I think you could enhance the discussion here by researching how competitive we really are and how much the U.S. needs a plastic shopping bag industry in the first place.
ReplyDeleteUnlike Colin, I have a small family, but I lose my mind with a store's plastic bags. They tear easily, they are a waste, and I always see them on the sides of roads and in the creek/woods in my backyard.
So since we both have an opinion here, consider being the tiebreaker!
Well, truthfully I prefer plastic bags because they are more convenient for my family and I. Usually, when we bought our groceries we took two to three reusable bags, but sometimes we bought more than the usual and it was not enough. We have bought more reusable bags over time but my family lost them, which is always the case.
ReplyDeleteI would like to use reusable bags and my family tries too, but it is just a bit inconvenient.