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Grocery Bag Bans and Foodborne Illness [ER admissions and deaths up by 25% since plastic bag ban]
papers.ssrn.com ^ | November 2, 2012 | Jonathan Klick and Joshua D. Wright

Posted on 01/24/2013 6:31:52 PM PST by grundle

Abstract: Recently, many jurisdictions have implemented bans or imposed taxes upon plastic grocery bags on environmental grounds. San Francisco County was the first major US jurisdiction to enact such a regulation, implementing a ban in 2007. There is evidence, however, that reusable grocery bags, a common substitute for plastic bags, contain potentially harmful bacteria. We examine emergency room admissions related to these bacteria in the wake of the San Francisco ban. We find that ER visits spiked when the ban went into effect. Relative to other counties, ER admissions increase by at least one fourth, and deaths exhibit a similar increase.

Number of Pages in PDF File: 23

Keywords: plastic, environment, pollution, e-coli

JEL Classification: I18, K32

(Excerpt) Read more at papers.ssrn.com ...


TOPICS: Miscellaneous
KEYWORDS: bacteria; bag; bags; ban; bannans; bans; emergencyroom; enviralists; environmental; environmentalism; foodborne; grocery; grocerybag; grocerybags; illness; plasticbag; plasticbags; reusable; sanfrancisco; sanfranciscovalues
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1 posted on 01/24/2013 6:32:06 PM PST by grundle
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To: grundle

Not surprised


2 posted on 01/24/2013 6:33:24 PM PST by svcw (Why is one cell on another planet considered life, and in the womb it is not.)
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To: grundle

Wow these guys must be right wing extremists.
How could they dispute progressive dogma?
And in that shrine of liberalism, SF CA ??


3 posted on 01/24/2013 6:35:13 PM PST by nascarnation (Baraq's economic policy: trickle up poverty)
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To: grundle

this is why I throw away any plastic bag that touched raw meat. The reast we reuse for lunches and such.


4 posted on 01/24/2013 6:36:41 PM PST by LukeL (Barack Obama: Jimmy Carter 2 Electric Boogaloo)
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To: LukeL

we use them for dog poop


5 posted on 01/24/2013 6:51:57 PM PST by Mercat (Never laugh at live dragons)
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To: grundle

Ah, the absurdity and idiocy of liberal meddlers. Back in the 70s and 80s they convinced legislative ignoramuses across the country that paper grocery bags don’t biodegrade for decades in landfills an that the grocery stores needed to switch to plastic.

Those of us whose brains stills functioned were against at the complete lack of logic because a paper bag biodegrades much, much faster than does plastice. But, the elected twits in Congress and state legislatures across the country apparently slept through that particular 8th grade science class.

So, today, landfills are full of plastic bags that will still be intact when the next millenia comes and now, the same morons who convinced legislative morons that “paper bad, plastic good” are now telling the same legislative morons, “plastic bad, paper or reusable bags good.”

And people wonder why we are a nation of idiots!


6 posted on 01/24/2013 6:54:45 PM PST by DustyMoment (Congress - another name for anti-American criminals!!)
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To: grundle

Anyone ever heard of lysol or a washing machine, or are they outlawed in the freak state?


7 posted on 01/24/2013 6:56:49 PM PST by VRWCarea51
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To: grundle

I love reusable bags—not for any “green reasons”. I just don’t have to make 40 trips back and forth to the car when I can put my groceries in 1 or 2 bags and make one trip.


8 posted on 01/24/2013 7:01:47 PM PST by freeangel ( (free speech is only good until someone else doesn't like it)
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To: DustyMoment
Back in the 70s and 80s they convinced legislative ignoramuses across the country that paper grocery bags don’t biodegrade for decades in landfills an that the grocery stores needed to switch to plastic.

I remember it differently. The paper bags were bad because it required the cutting of trees. I don't think anybody claimed that platics (especially '70s plastics) degraded.
9 posted on 01/24/2013 7:03:02 PM PST by Dr. Sivana ("C'est la vie" say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell. -- Chuck Berry)
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To: Mercat
we use them for dog poop

Make sure you check 'em for holes in the bottom. A lot of them have tears and holes after their primary function is completed.

10 posted on 01/24/2013 7:07:19 PM PST by Bloody Sam Roberts (Here once the embattled farmers stood... And fired the shot heard round the world.)
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To: Dr. Sivana
The paper bags were bad because it required the cutting of trees.

God help us, in Maine, we have a tree growing every square foot.

11 posted on 01/24/2013 7:09:35 PM PST by ROCKLOBSTER (Celebrate Republicans Freed the Slaves Month)
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To: Mercat

Yes, similiar here - removing solids from kitty litter boxes (6 cats) and getting dog poo (2 dogs) out of back yard.


12 posted on 01/24/2013 7:12:29 PM PST by SatinDoll (NATURAL BORN CITZEN: BORN IN THE USA OF CITIZEN PARENTS.)
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To: grundle

It’s better that humans die instead of a pigeon that eats plastic bags.../s


13 posted on 01/24/2013 7:13:17 PM PST by Dallas59 (America died a little bit more on 11/6/2012)
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To: ROCKLOBSTER
God help us, in Maine, we have a tree growing every square foot.

And it is VERY important to the folks in Madison, Berkeley, Manhattan and San Francisco that it STAY that way.
14 posted on 01/24/2013 7:13:31 PM PST by Dr. Sivana ("C'est la vie" say the old folks, it goes to show you never can tell. -- Chuck Berry)
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To: LukeL

Use them for dog poop, or trash bags.


15 posted on 01/24/2013 7:18:08 PM PST by svcw (Why is one cell on another planet considered life, and in the womb it is not.)
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To: VRWCarea51

The obvious answer is who wants to go to the bother. Less obvious is that these reusable bags are not robust enough to withstand machine washing, or they are just plain water proof which does not wash well.


16 posted on 01/24/2013 7:21:06 PM PST by HiTech RedNeck (How long before all this "fairness" kills everybody, even the poor it was supposed to help???)
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To: VRWCarea51

Many of the reusable bags fall apart if you try and wash them.
They are great for non perishable items, I only use plastic for fresh and meat.


17 posted on 01/24/2013 7:21:42 PM PST by svcw (Why is one cell on another planet considered life, and in the womb it is not.)
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To: grundle

I need to get this to the Austin City Council who just enacted a ban on plastic bans. Is San Fran going to somehow be held liable for all those ER visits? or any of them?


18 posted on 01/24/2013 7:21:42 PM PST by austinaero
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To: grundle
Low-information voters and abysmally ignorant legislators...
...and unexpected consequences.

What a freaking surprise!

19 posted on 01/24/2013 7:22:18 PM PST by publius911 (Look for the Union Label -- then buy something else)
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To: grundle

It looks like the paper is written by two attorneys. Look for a class action suit.


20 posted on 01/24/2013 7:29:23 PM PST by 'smith
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