Get A Hygienic Handle On Paying For Plastic

Every now and then I carry a canvas tote bag with me when I go shopping. I've collected a few free canvas bags over the years that are sturdy, somewhat spacious and have comfortable handles that don't give my arms or hands rope burn. How safe and savvy! 

Get your fill of juicy bacteria! Stop using plastic bags!

What if I had to make a habit of using those economically-friendly tote bags for every-day food shopping? Well, in the words of former American Idol judge Simon Cowell: "That's a no from me..."

I felt a bit relieved when the 5-cent fee proposed for plastic shopping bags in New York City was nixed. With yammering coming from Gov. Andrew Cuomo, Mayor Bill de Blasio and State Department of Environmental Conservation's Commissioner Basil Seggos, the public is being convinced that sooner or later, they're going to have to dig into their pockets for change to buy plastic bags. For at least another year, legislation on the plastic ban is on the back burner. 

On a personal note, I would be hygienically disgusted if the ban/fee resulted in consumers having no choice but to use - and reuse -  their own material packaging. I don't want to be petty - but, hey, I'm going to be petty with this issue!

The first thing that comes to mind about having to food shop with a reusable material bag is the amount of germs that that thing is going to collect and spread.

You're going to place dozens of groceries that came out of a possibly dirty transporting truck - and packaged raw meat with hundreds of bacteria particles like salmonella and e coli - in your canvas bags to take home? Without disposable plastic shopping bags to create a barrier between leaks, germs and post-delivery dirt, you're directly placing all of those gross and raw items together in tote bags and into an impure environment.

Assuming that you're going to take about a dozen of those material bags with you when you have a massive amount of shopping to do, you're also going to be sitting those "environmentally-safe" canvas bags down on supermarket counters and floors in order to fill them with purchased groceries. Sounds simple enough right? 

Consider this - those canvas bags will touch dozens of nasty surfaces and then you will place those bags in your home while you're unpacking, subsequently transferring the bacteria and dirt to your living space. Hey - that's what you'll get for not paying 5-cents for plastic bags (if there are any available in stores by the time our Mayor is done!) 

Imagine having to be extra careful how you place those packages of raw chicken and beef in your material bags? That'll show those environmentalists that you're willing to risk your health to save the earth!

When you go to the supermarket now, the cashier probably separates raw meat/fish from the rest of your groceries in plastic bags.  Hygienically speaking, this is a safe way to transport food - especially if you don't want the package of meat to get punctured by other groceries. You know you're safe when contaminated, raw chicken juice doesn't wind up all over the place! As a matter of fact, if you Google "Preventing Cross Contamination" web sites across the board will advise consumers to use separate plastic bags for raw food.

You'll also waste more time cleaning those material bags - whether you want to or not. Those of us who are skeeved out by bacteria (and I hope that refers to the masses) will have to wash and disinfect canvas bags out immediately after heavy duty food shopping! If you're not grossed out by transferring dirt, raw food liquid and bacteria from the supermarket to your house..well, you should be!

As "toxic" as plastic bags are for the environment, they are easily disposable/reusable and safely help consumers transport raw food to their home in separate spaces. If poultry or fish comes out of its packaging for any reason and there's slimy goop at the bottom of the plastic bag, you can throw it out! No stains, no odors, no cross-contamination!  

It strikes me as odd that in a world where scientists are telling us about the "dangers" of raw... everything...and how cross-contamination is a serious issue - the State is more concerned about shop owners imposing a fee and telling us how plastic is our enemy! I don't think anything should change - and instead, our leaders should be focusing on more important environmental issues that will make us healthier.

If Mayor de Blasio wants to ban the use of plastic bags altogether, get ready for the biggest germfest of all time! If I had to choose between being political over plastic or looking out for my risk of exposure to harmful bacteria and contracting food poisoning...I think the answer is in the bag!