Plastic Bags: More Environmental Fad Than Environmental Benefit?

San Francisco passed America's first in the nation ban on plastic bags in chain grocery stores in 2007. More recently, law professors Jonathan Klick and Joshua Wright from the Wharton School Institute for Law and Economics, analyzed state and federal data on emergency room admissions and food borne illness deaths and discovered that the San Francisco ban led to an increase in infections immediately upon implementation. They found a 46 percent rise in food borne illness deaths. (1)

This was not an isolated study. Researchers form the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University conducted a study to assess the potential for cross contamination of food products from reusable bags for carrying groceries in California and Arizona. They discovered that reusable bags are seldom, if ever, washed and are often used for multiple purposes. E. coli were identified in 12% of the bags and a wide range of other bacteria, including several opportunistic pathogens were identified. When meat juices were added to bags and stored in the trunks of cars for two hours the number of bacteria increased ten-fold indicating the potential for bacterial growth in the bags. Hand or machine washing was found to reduce the bacteria by greater than 99%. The results indicate that reusable bags can play a significant role in the cross contamination of foods if not properly washed on a regular basis. (2) In another unintended consequence, the plastic bag ban is contributing to thousands of dollars in losses for at least on Seattle grocery store. Mike Duke, who operates Lake City Grocery Outlet with his wife, said that since the plastic bag ban started last July, he's lost at least $5,000 in produce and between $3,000 and $4,000 in frozen food. The reusable bags allow would-be thieves to more easily conceal items they steal. According to data released in January 2013 by Seattle Public Utilities, 21.1 percent of business owners surveyed said increased shoplifting because of the plastic bag ban was a problem. (3)

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Another issue is the alleged threat of plastic bags to marine life. Steve Milloy says this is a myth. (4) Advocates of banning plastic grocery bags often cite impacts on marine life and mammals, but they rarely attempt to quantify that impact. Unfortunately, many attempts to quantify those impacts are simply false or misleading. For example, one city council in Washington state was told, 'the ecological impact of this plastic include over a million sea-birds and 100,000 marine mammals killed by either plastic ingestion or entanglement.' (5) Todd Myers reports, “In fact, the claim about harm to marine mammals and sea-birds has nothing to do with plastic bags. The National Oceanic & Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) corrected the claim about sea birds on its web page saying “We are so far unable to find a scientific reference for this figure.” The only study NOAA can find does not deal with plastic bags or even marine debris, but 'active fishing gear,' in other words, fishing nets that are being used at sea, not discarded plastic bags.” (5) Another issue is reuse of bags. Whatever type of bag is used, the key to reducing the impacts is to reuse it as many times as possible . Cheryl Chumley notes that grocery shoppers must use their cotton bags 131 times to see the environmental benefits touted by global warming alarmists. (6) As Debra Saunders wonders, “Ask your friends and family how many of them regularly wash their reusable bags –and you can intuit that a ban on plastic bags might not be the brightest idea. It's another nanny state law that coerces law-abiding shoppers to change their conduct. Single-use bags are not the problem. In 2011, they represented 0.13 percent of California's total waste stream.” (7) You might also ask how many times they re-use the bags before they are worn out or discarded. References

1. Jonathan Klick and Joshua D. Wright, “Grocery bag bans and foodborne illness,” U. of Penn, Institute for Law & Econ., Research Paper No. 13-2, November 2, 2012
2. Charles P. Gerba, David Williams, and Ryan G. Sinclair, “Assessment of the potential for cross contamination of food products by reusable shopping bags,” Loma Linda University, June 9, 2010
3. Casey McNerthney, “Store owners say plastic bag ban caused more shoplifting,” seattlepi.com, February 28, 2013
4. Steve Milloy, “Plastic bags may go the way of lead paint, lawn darts,” junkscience.com, June 27, 2013
5. Todd Myers, “Plastic bag bans: another feel-good eco-fad,” realclearscience.com, July 31, 2012
6. Cheryl K. Chumley, “Reusable bags an environmental loser,” Environment & Climate News, 14, 1, April 2011
7. Debra J. Saunders, “Wash your bags- or else,” San Francisco Chronicle, February 10, 2013