Free Republic

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...

The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recently expanded its website to include a norovirus toolkit advising the ways in which one might contract the killer virus. Among the public health agency's prescribed practices to stop the spread of the virus: "Practice proper hand hygiene … Take care in the kitchen … Do not prepare food while infected … Clean and disinfect contaminated surfaces after throwing up or having diarrhea … Wash laundry thoroughly." But nowhere in that exhaustive battery of norovirus dodges was a recommendation to avoid reusable grocery bags. Curious, considering that reusable-but-not-recyclable alternative to single-use plastic bags...

Plastic grocery bags are everywhere and more and more people are using the convenient commodity in an effort to be greener and recycle and reuse; however, The Washington Post has issued a reminder to wash the bags after they’ve been emptied if you plan on using them again. A study at the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University found that just about every bag tested came back with large amounts of dangerous pathogens such as coliform and E. coli, said The Washington Post. Raw meat or uncooked food contaminants—pointing to coliform bacteria—were in about half of the bags while...

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) -- It could soon cost California shoppers at the checkout aisle if they forget to bring their own bags to the grocery store. Legislation passed Wednesday by the California Assembly would prohibit grocery stores, pharmacies, liquor stores and convenience stores from giving out plastic bags.

Once again the cure is as bad as the illness. Remember when you went to the grocery store and brought your food home in brown paper bags. Those bags were great, they had so many uses once you brought them home, everything from trick or treating, to trash bags. Throughout my school years every text book I had was covered with one of those brown paper bags. But those bags used paper and the environmentalists wanted to save the rain forests so they switched to those thin plastic bags. The plastic could still be used for Halloween, and are perfect...

The plastic grocery bag is fighting for its crinkly life.From the city of San Francisco to Los Angeles County, more than a dozen local governments around the state have proposed or passed plastic-bag restrictions, ranging from recycling mandates to outright bans.Now, a proposal in the Legislature would put a 25-cent fee on all disposable bags – paper or plastic – given out at drug and grocery store check stands starting Jan. 1, 2010. It has won key support from the grocery and retail industries and faces its next legislative step today. Those in favor of the fee, led by Assemblyman...

Update: Jan Gee of the Washington Food Industry says a Web site with more information on the effort to repeal the bag fee will go live Tuesday or Wednesday. She said it would appear at stopthebagtax.com, where an effort against a California bag fee currently resides. Still mad about that 20-cent grocery bag fee? If a group of Seattle grocers gets its way, the fee could be history, according to a report in the Puget Sound Business Journal. The Washington Food Industry, a trade group for independent grocers such as Red Apple and Metropolitan Market, launched a signature-gathering drive on...

WATERFORD, Wis. (AP) - Victory may be in the bag for Lori Engel. Engel, an assistant manager at the Waterford Pick 'n' Save, has parlayed years of bagging know-how into $500, a trip to Vegas and a chance to compete in the National Grocers Association's Best Bagger Contest. Last month, Engel competed in the Wisconsin Grocers Association's state bagging competition in Green Bay, where she finished in first place. Engel, 39, competed in a field of 18, in two separate categories - paper and plastic. She prefers paper. The competition involved filling two bags with a selection of grocery items....