Make Your Reusable Grocery Bags As Healthy As Your Food
When I walked out of a grocery store with two handfuls of plastic bags of food quite some time ago, I thought to myself that day that long after I am dead and decomposed, the plastic bags that I was holding would still be in a landfill somewhere, would still be attempting to decompose, or worse, would still be floating in an ocean, having been the murder weapons of a cute, cuddly loggerhead turtle, my favorite animal.
Having thought of my loggerhead friends, or hoping that those plastic fiends would not find Nemo, I rushed in search of the nearest reusable grocery bags, those filmy bags that cost hardly a thing bearing some company’s logo, and for a moment I was satisfied because I was “eco-friendly.” But was I? After that moment I thought, these bags seem just above plastic bag grade; what is in them? I looked online and found my answer. These bags are made of non-woven polypropylene bags (say that five times fast), which has caused quite a bit of negative press around their eco-friendly advertizing.
I also spoke to an esteemed retired physician in New York, and she warned me about the hazardous microbes and fecal bacteria that can be found by putting your meat packages in reusable grocery bags along with your (no longer) delicious fresh vegetables. Even if you were careful, the bacteria and viruses that can potentially put you in the hospital can linger for long periods of time and can easily latch on to the vegetable bags.
Not convinced? Check out this video below, which shows a test conducted by comparing the bacteria grown in a reusable bag used once, on a public toilet seat, a kitchen sink, and an elevator button:
What are the solutions to this quandary? No definitive solution has been given, but start with this one: invest in multiple high-quality, biodegradable shopping bags and wash them whenever you do the laundry. Let’s get practical: it is more economical (and more pleasant) than going to the hospital.
