Not so fast, says Los Angeles City Councilman Bernard Parks, on the Council’s recent attempt to jump on a flaming bandwagon and support a ban on single-use plastic bags.
Slow down, is his message.
Mr. Parks has put together a motion requesting that the City Administrative Officer, Chief Legislative Analyst and the Bureau of Sanitation be instructed to conduct a comprehensive review regarding the health and safety impacts of reusable bags in response to the Council’s May 23 plastic bag ban.
They called for outlawing single-use plastic bags at grocery and convenience stories throughout Los Angeles, and mandated a 10-cent fee on single-use paper bags.
The ban and paper bag fee will be phased in over the next 18 months. It will require consumers to begin using reusable bags.
Reports have been made to the City Council discussing the environmental impacts of the policy, but none have addressed the potential health and safety impacts that may arise from using reusable bags.
A study conducted jointly by the University of Arizona and Loma Linda University found that there are significant health risks associated with using unwashed reusable bags to carry groceries. The study collected shopping bags from the Los Angeles, San Francisco, and Tucson areas, and tested them for bacteria. The study found that large amounts of bacteria were found in every reusable bag, and that no bacteria were found in new bags or plastic bags.
Bacteria found in bags were also capable of growing in bags when they were stored in trunks of cars for just two hours.
The study found that 97 percent of people reported never cleaning their reusable bags. Given these facts, it is probable that harmful bacteria and illnesses such as E. coli, Salmonella, and Campylobacter could be easily spread.
The 10-cent paper bag fee goes to retailers for:
• Ordinance compliance costs,
• Costs for supplying recyclable paper bags,
• Educational materials for reusable bags.
However, currently there is no monitoring system in place to determine whether the money is going toward the above costs or whether retailers are keeping the money as profit.
For this reason, Mr. Parks is requesting that the fees go toward non-profit organizations with the sole purpose of educating the public on the health and safety impacts of reusable bags and hygiene.
As the city considers moving forward with this policy designed to incentivize and encourage the use of reusable bags, it must ensure that doing so will not lead to an increase in food-borne illnesses in order to promote the health and welfare of the public, Mr. Parks said.
It is crucial that the health impacts and liabilities associated with reusable bags including their impact on consumers, store employees, store owners, he said, adding: City liability should be fully investigated and understood before the city moves forward with this program.
Click here to see the motion.
Click here to see the study.
