Localized warming of wind farms does not create global warming. Cities are warmer than fields, buildings full of people are warmer than empty ones, etc.

Buy a canvas bag and wash it with your clothes. If it's a good quality bag it won't fall apart quickly.

It's not so much saving money, it's saving the environment when using reusable bags; reusable bags cut down on the amount of plastic bags in landfills. At least reusable bags break down, and won't clutter the landfills. I have separate bags for separate food items, so you could do that and stop using plastic bags altogether. Cleaning bags should be self explanatory; things get dirty, wash them.

I recycle my grocery bags and I feel that is "green enough".

Reusable bags are a pain for everyone involved and end up in the trash after a while anyway.

Please hippies, stop using your reusable bags. You're going to kill the rest of us. Just ask for a paper bag instead of a plastic one.

Not only are plastic bags more sanitary that reusable bags, and are often reused for lining wastebaskets, picking up dog poop, cleaning the cat box, even crocheted into portable sleeping mats for the homeless~ they are 100% recyclable! This means that if people are properly educated and motivated to recycle, plastic bags need not go to landfills or into our water systems. They can and are being used to make durable lumber, decking, pvc pipes and remade into plastic bags! There has been a push in the Los Angeles to ban plastic bags. Unfortunately, if this occurs, hundreds of LOCAL people will be out of a job working in the plant which makes the bags! Many of of these folk have jobs that pay above minimum wage, and will also be losing their healthcare benefits! Another result will be that you and I will need to purchase plastic bags to line our wastebaskets, pick up poop, etc. I guess the homeless will have to resort to sleeping on wet cardboard. :~( Frankly, I find it detestable that the government is the force behind putting yet another American industry out of business all in the guise of environmentalism! Please check out this website for more information about the plastic bag industry, recycling, etc. Arm yourself with real information, not a bunch of hype!

Evidently, the website didn't print. I will try again. bag the ban dot com.

Greendiamondbags.com Great idea but big box retailers are to stubborn to pay a few cents more.

The push in CA to ban plastic bags is completely misguided. First of all, the current plastic bags are recyclable and many people reuse them for other purposes. I know I use them for trash can liners instead of buying plastic bags for that and the excess bags get put into the recycle bin. The push to get rid of plastic is going to mean a shift back to paper bags, which means more trees are going to need to be cut down to make the paper bags - how is this environmentally friendly. What they should have done instead of banning the plastic bags is to mandate the shift to the new biodegradable plastic bags. Of course they would need to be sure and specify the type of biodegradable bags that actually do biodegrade, not the ones that simply break down into tiny pieces of plastic. These are the bags that are made from starches or lignin and meet the requirements of ASTM D6400 or EN 13432, not the Oxo-degradable ones that simply break down into little bits of plastic. The true biodegradable plastic bags can even be composted, if that is something people want to do. This would be a far more environmentally friendly solution to the current problems with plastic bag trash than the knee jerk reaction of banning plastic bags. It also make more sense than trying to push everyone into using reusable bags. How many times do people make unplanned stops at stores to buy things. Keeping reusable bags in your car trunk can easily end up being hazardous to your health since a car trunk is not exactly the cleanest place I can think of. Reusable bags are easily contaminated with viruses and bacteria. Also, many of these reusable bags that are being sold are made of non-biodegradable materials, so they are going to end up in land fills when they wear out. Even with people using reusable, biodegradable bags, stores will still need to have bags for those customers who do not have them or forget to bring their bags with them. The new biodegradable plastic bags are far and away the best solution to the issue.

JS - you make some good points. I agree the real course of action should be to go to the biodegradable bags. If they are going to restrict the plastic ones (which does have it's merits, can't disagree about that, but we need to be and should be taking the smart approach to it) then I say put some rules on the reusable bags too. Make sure they are biodegradable or came from recycled materials as well.

Besides the arguement about the exisiting plastic bags (I think some just don't like to be told what do if its good or bad, or are to lazy to try) if you use the resuable bags, wash them! Duh. When it comes down to it what is so hard about that?? To me this is the main problem. People aren't bothering to wash the bags. Why this is hard to grasp I can't figure out.

My family uses the resuable bags but we do use the plastic bags as well. Especially on quick in and outs to the store. But not on the main trip to the store each month, we try to get as much as we can in the reusable bags and then the rest in the plastic bags. All meat and produce goes into a plastic bag. Typically we end up with 3 to 5 plastic bags, which we turn around and use for the small trash cans in the bathrooms ect. assuming its not torn or something leaked in it. Those go to the dump but at least they do get one other use. And yes we wash the recyclable bags on a regular basis.

Come on people stop and think. Wash the bags! Do what you can to push your local stores, or gov in some cases, to see about the biodegradable bags as well, I think that combined with the reuseable bags (made from recycled materials or that will biodegrade themselves) is the right answer. Once agian we have the answers, just failing to use them and apply common sense.

It is time

Can all you over-the-top environmentalists please do us all a favor? Pool your resources and buy some third world country and live there. The benefit to everyone would be tenfold. First you'd remove yourself from many of the evil man-made creations of the modern world thereby reducing your overall stress. Secondly you'd have a captive audience of third-worlders who are desperate to hear your wisdom on sustainability, carbon footprint reductions, organic farming, etc... This is just for starters. The potential is limitless! And C all us heathens would lessen our chances of getting sick from your nasty reusable grocery bags.

You'd still be getting sick from all of the other pollution you help to create every day, hehe.

I don't have these problems. I use plastic

A bunch of folks got really sick, but remember, somewhere a tree was saved, and that was worth it......uh, wasn't it?

Joking aside (I would hope some of you are joking) environmentalism is not the root cause here for people getting sick. I understand if you can't understand and grasp the benefits (yes it does alot of good) and drawbacks (yes there are drawbacks and I'm the first to admit and see that) to environmentalism but the real problem here is people are to dumb or lazy to stop and think, maybe that bag should be washed?? I just put a raw veggies and a package of meat in there, hmmm nahh. Personal responsibility maybe?? It was the bag, no your to dumb to figure out you should wash it. No different than your clothes. This is also not the first time this has happened or been in the news.

Honestly this probably stems from the done with it, throw away and forget mentality that our country has, partially from things like the plastic bags. Again though, think first, of course that should be washed (duh), and stop the knee jerk reactions, ban the bags all together, maybe but look at all alternatives out there, reusable bags and biodegradable bags that function just like the plastic bags.

my resuables are all washable so I throw them in the washer any time they've had something that could spread something. I guess a lot of people don't think to do that?

Hi All,

One more example of folks wanting to get rid of plastic and have some good reasons but didn't tell the whole story like the risk of using the same bag over and over again. Oh!! we have to wash them, no one ever told us that. So there is a reoccuring cost of water and soap and my time to maintain these bags. Has anyone culculated the cost of maintenance on said bags? Even if you throw them away they need to be cleaned first because they may be a bio-hazard. If someone else gets sick from a bag you improperly disposed of, can you be held accountable, YES. All of this opens doors that no one has spoken of but should have. Not clean, I use plastic and recycle an am just fine with that.

Thank about it, Chris

Actually, if you read the article carefully, there is an implication that it really didn't matter if this was a reusable bag. In this case, the original person got sick and spread norovirus over everything--including the bag with cookies in it--after she got sick. People then ate cookies out of this bag. If these cookies were in a regular store plastic bag, they would still have been contaminated because the contamination came from a person spraying norovirus all over the place.

Most people re-purpose the plastic bags so they don't actually go "straight to the landfill" as some people would have us believe. The new plastic ones are biodegradable so any argument for using reusable cloth bags is moot.

Sterilize your reusable bags....

The best way to clean your reusable bags is heating them up in the microwave oven for a few minutes, with a bowl of water on top of them. Microwave needs water to generate heat and the microwave also kills any germs.

After this treatment, the bags may not look cleaner, but they are almost sterile. The infectious germs would be dead.

Sterilize your reusable bags....

The best way to clean your reusable bags is heating them up in the microwave oven for a few minutes, with a bowl of water on top of them. Microwave needs water to generate heat and the microwave also kills any germs.

After this treatment, the bags may not look cleaner, but they are almost sterile. The infectious germs would be dead.

That is indeed what it sounds like, Leon Bo. I hope I read it wrong. In Europe, you still see people doing their shopping with a basket in hand. That sounds much more sanitary since air can flow freely. May be we should adopt that habit here. They can also safely be rinsed with detergent and Clorox. BUT - not made in China, please. They need to be solid and strong and need to last. I am sure there are capable weavers in this country.

I believe you both are reading it wrong. The bag was in the room. The girl was sick in the bathroom. The way it is written, it is clear these are two separate rooms.

The sick became an aerosol. . .that would be much like a sneeze. . .which spread the virus over a large area.

I believe bags should be washed and I was mine regularly. However, in this situation the bag could have been fresh from the laundry and others still would have gotten sick. The bag happened to be one of the items infected with the virus after the child was sick.

The bag was stored IN THE BATHROOM, according to another article as well. A child was in the bathroom, saw the bag but did not touch it. She was ill with Norovirus.

They never mention where the sick girl contracted norovirus. As jkatze said, the bag just happened to be the infected item. It could just as easily have been a towel that the girl brought from the room, and then others might have picked it up to wipe their hands... Then everyone would be carping about towels being dangerous, and we should dry off with disposable paper towels after showering.

Actually, if you read the article carefully, there is an implication that it really didn't matter if this was a reusable bag. In this case, the original person got sick and spread norovirus over everything--including the bag with cookies in it--after she got sick. People then ate cookies out of this bag. If these cookies were in a regular store plastic bag, they would still have been contaminated because the contamination came from a person spraying norovirus all over the place.

Washing is good, but the thing that really kills those nasties is the trip through a hot clothes dryer. And even the flimsiest cloth bag I own is still in great shape after years of use.

I've been carrying (and washing on a regular basis) my canvas totes for as long as 19 years on one of them (it's been designated as my banana bag with all of the banana sap stains.) The old "string" bags of Europe are also great...they look almost like a heavy duty fishnet weave.

I got one of these bags when a local retailer was giving them away on Earth Day. I liked it so much I bought a couple of them. I like that they don't tear. I like the wide handles that make it more comfortable to hold (no stretched plastic digging into your fingers). I also like that they are big enough to hold larger items like cereal boxes and milk, which just protrude past the handles on the plastic ones. I believe they were 85 cents apiece, and you get a 5-cent discount at checkout when you use them, so each bag pays for itself in 17 uses. I've been using mine for years. I wash and dry them with the rest of the laundry and they have never worn out. I forget them every now and then, which gives me just enough plastic bags to use as trash bin liners and such.

I agree, they are adding two plus two and getting three. Correlation does not imply causation.

The point is the virus was on the bag and remained there even two weeks after exposure. Think I'll just keep using my plastic bags.

But the virus wouldn't stay on a plastic bag? Is it a magic plastic bag?

I saw this same problem. The girl invected the bag. Where did she get the virus from? And why was the bag in the bathroom?

Bob, people don't reuse plastic bags-that's the point (on both sides).

You are wrong stonedog, or haven't you been reading the posts above? Plastic bags CAN be contaminated at any point from the time they are produced, through the entire distribution process, then at the final distribution source (the store where you received it.) All it would take is one customer or employee who is carrying any virus to sneeze or to have not properly sanitized his/her hands from one bag to another to spread such viruses. As to tllup's comment, it verifies that such a virus can exist and needs to be tested for on every type of surface, not just a plastic or canvas tote somewhere in the area.

I'm not a big fan of the "recycled" plastic bags (like the one shown in the photo in the story) because they do NOT last more than a year, whereas a canvas bag or old-fashioned "string" bag will last for decades.

LOL I'm wrong? So people DO reuse those cheap, flimsy disposable plastic bags?

How about instead of making up talking points for me that don't exist just because you don't like me and want to argue, just read what I posted and leave it at that.

Dumbass.

Who said I don't like you. I was simply commenting that from the posts above, people do "recycle" those cheap, flimsy disposable plastic bags as trash bags (if they are lucky to even get home without them breaking) and that is what I meant by you are wrong.

My comments about contamination were directed at all posters, not at you or your comment about people recycling/not recycling the bags.

Name calling at the end of your comment defeats your comments. I'm NOT a dumbass. I'm an opponent of those cheap plastic bags.

stonedog34, I don't believe you've met logic. Logic, meet stonedog34.

So in this case, if the bag was plastic, no one else would have contracted the disease? Interesting theory, about as plausible as flat earth, but intersting nonetheless.

You don't have to buy reusables from China. There are many places to buy them here in the US, many from home based businesses. The problem with "just recycle" is that most people wont. And there are too many pieces of plastic, especially grocery bags. One of my biggest problems with plastic grocery bags is that they take over. Now, I am responsible and take them over to my local grocery store and recycle them. But, statistic show that that I am in the minority and that the majority end up in the landfills. Sadly, the only way to get rid of them is to ban them.

Plus it takes a double bag to hold even a couple of cans or boxes, let alone any produce or other items, and then you are lucky if you can get to your car without them breaking. A canvas bag can hold about 4-8 times the weight of a double plastic "thank you" bag. I can carry an entire canvas tote filled to the top with canned goods and have no problems with the bag splitting. I watch other people's groceries being bagged and what I can carry in two canvas bags will take 8 to 10 bags double-lined. What a waste. The energy it takes to "recycle" those bags is even greater than the energy it takes to originally manufacture them (not to mention the petroleum to produce them.) Plus, I guess most of you posters missed the story earlier today about the amount of plastic now trashed in our oceans and the destruction they cause.

Every spring we see "trash devils" (like dirt devils, except carrying trash instead of dirt) parading garbage in little vortexes. The plastic bags really get some air. People abandon them all over the place.

And you are an example of spewing off. ;) ;) ;)

Why are people who don't want to fill landfills up an an astonishing rate "hippies?" Oh, I didn't see the winking face!

Look, we can't have zero impact. The whole thing is, do what you can, keep yourself and your family safe, and don't worry about people who either follow you around yelling at you about your carbon footprint, or who bash you for doing what you think is right.

My mother-in-law, for years, rinsed off aluminum foil and cans, then just threw them in the regular trash, because she got into the habit during WWII. When recycling became mandatory in our state, she complained that it was too hard, until we pointed out she was already doing the hard part!

Just another example of poor reporting and sensationalized journalism. It's always been assumed this was a route of transmission, which accounts for the extensive sanitation done by cruise ships, hospitals, schools, etc, in the past. The real story is the confirmed transmission route (person-object-person), not that it was a reusable shopping bag. The bag could have been a normal plastic one, or a paper bag, or anything else. Or the transmission could even have occurred through contamination of the contents themselves.

So tired of MSNBC and their college-level reporting.

Like others have said... pros and cons each way. Washing all those bags would amount to at least an extra load of laundry every week, more for larger families. Multiply that by many families and you're talking about a lot of extra water and electricity use. I've yet to see any figures to compare the energy costs of plastic bags and recycling them vs. producing and maintaining reusables.

I worked at a grocery store in high school - you wouldn't believe how nasty some reusable bags were. I didn't even want to touch them, let alone even think about eating the food I was putting inside them.

Do you wash the bags after every use? Or do you not use them?

I haven't been washing them after every use, but I do wash them.

Now, though, I just get the plastic bags from the store, wash them and pass them on to my daughter, who cuts them into strips and knits useful items out of them. Best of both worlds.

HomeEc class? I haven't heard of a school teaching that since the 70's.

I don't use chemical wipes......I use a vinegar/baking soda mixture for the reusable plastic bags. One of our biggest problems here in the US is the overuse of anti-bacterial products. Also, anti-bacs do NOTHING for viral infections. Simple cleaning is the best defense and too many chemicals are harmful to us and the environment.

HN #11.1...exactly!

hollywoodunderground, I use Clorox wipes because they have bleach in them. If viruses are an issue, Lysol is a good product...the original brown, smelly stuff.

HN - everyone in my middle school had to take 2 semesters of home ec. I graduated 1999. My sister had the same, she graduated in 2007. And my school district was a highly ranked public school district in the suburbs of a proper city. It's not as antiquated as you'd think. We learned to cook, do laundry, about credit cards (think a lot of people would appreciate that now!), as well as sew. We had to make our own aprons before we could cook (using sewing machines), and we had to make an article of clothing (e.g. sweatshirt). We also had to take 2 semesters of technology. First semester, we all made mini race cars from wood and some air driven thingy, and our grade was based on where we placed when racing them. Second semester we had the choice of making a mini (1 foot tall) grandfather type clock or a mini pool table. We went through selecting wood (I chose cherry), cutting with power saws, smoothing the wood, staining it, glazing it, etc. Also learn about bridge construction, and I'm sure some other things. I appreciate it actually, and find it sad that my husband doesn't even know how to sew a button back on because he never received such education.

Oh please! Using a brand new manufactured bag every time is far more resource-intensive than re-using cloth. By your argument we might as well eat off plastic plates and wear disposable clothes. Ridiculous!

Wash your bags once in a while.

i can guarantee you the mass-produced disposable bag costs way less to make in resources (including energy) per bag than the reusable one. i would even bet it's nearly 50-to-1 ratio in cost effectiveness. you've been scammed by the tree-huggers with reusable-bag manufacturing business to promote with no benefit to environment.... open your eyes and see every once in a while.

Yus...you miss the point of this discussion...it is not just the initial cost of production...it is the fact that with a reusable bag...you can reuse it many times over...of course if you wanted to...you could do that with the plastic ones, too...except they would only last 2-3 trips to the grocery store, whereas the reusable/green bags will make it through dozens of trips. Plus there is the end result of where and how these are disposed of...plastic bags take decades to decompose in landfills...and the actual plastic content is toxic.

The real point of this story wasn't the use of plastic vs reusable bags....it was about cleanliness.

Not true! I have had most of my canvas bags for YEARS! And I wash them regularly. If you simply take care of them, they will last a very long time. And the recycled plastic reusables are very easy to clean with a simple vinegar/baking soda cleaner that you can mix at home for pennies and, as long as you clean them regularly and put them away after use, you will have no problems. The ones I get online at Etsy.com are handmade from home businesses here in the US and are very sturdy or the ones I got from Trader Joes (my favorites!) and Fresh & Easy (a grocery chain here in the US that is part of the English Tesco chain) are great and have lasted me for YEARS! My Trader Joes canvas bags I have had well over five years! And they hold much more than plastic disposable bags. I also have two nylon bags that roll up and snap together into a small roll that fit into the palm of my hand and fit into my purse. I use those at the farmer's market.

Easy, unless the choice also includes the consideration of whether you want to pay for that bag, which is happening in more and more areas. Bags here are taxed at 5 cents each, regardless of whether it's a full size shopping bag or just large enough for a greeting card. The county took in over $150K the first month the tax was in effect, even as I witnessed most people bringing their own. With municipalities everywhere strapped for cash, you bet such taxes will show up in more places.

Whole Foods gives out paper exclusively here in Chicago. The problem with paper bags is that it's pretty bad if you are tree:( Of course we could cultivate hemp if we were a sensible society and make paper out of it in a sustainable, ecologically responsible manner. Too bad we are obsessed with cannabis prohibition in this country to have a clue!:/

tex, can't begin to tell you how many times people pick up meat products that are leaking, don't put them in a plastic bag, then contaminate the cart, the belt that carries it to the cashier and put them in their 'reusable' bags...and I'm just guessing that they don't clean those.

My Mom used to do bookkeeping for a butcher. You would tell them what you wanted, everything was so fresh and they would package it in butcher paper and another paper overwrap.

Common precautions are forgotten.

Reminds me of medicine in its early days, they didn't realize the dangers of bacteria and viruses and the need for cleanliness, sterilization.

Same here. I reuse the plastic bags to line waste baskets in my house and to dispose of cat and dog poops. I do like the reusable grocery bags. They are sturdy and store items that regular plastic bags can't do. I usually hang to air them when not in use.

We don't want to live with the Republican apes.

Nope, I would guess the liberal leeches are more your type.

You mean the oil companies that get billions of dollars in taxpayer money, or the companies that don't pay taxes but get tax refunds?

Or both?

Or the alternative energy companies? Or all three?

Xant, they pay customers to reuse their brown paper bags @ 2 cents per bag. I agree, this is not the place to cut corners.