[ Gotta love Commiefornia. ]
From:
https://tinyurl.com/2w4ydmhk (libertyunyielding.com)
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California bans plastic bags in supermarkets, which could increase the spread of
disease
By Hans Bader
September 22, 2024
A law signed today by California Governor Gavin Newsom bans all plastic
shopping bags. California had already banned thin plastic shopping bags
at supermarkets and other stores, but shoppers could still buy bags made
with a thicker plastic that supposedly made them reusable and recyclable.
The legislation, approved by state legislators last month, bans all
plastic shopping bags in California starting in 2026. The Washington
Times reports that "12 states already have some type of statewide plastic
bag ban in place...Hundreds of cities across 28 states also have their
own plastic bag bans in place."
Advocates of plastic bag bans would like people to use cloth bags instead
of plastic bags, even though cloth bags are more likely to spread disease.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, some cities and states banned cloth bags and
other reusable shopping bags, to curb the spread of the disease,
"requiring that stores use disposable plastic or paper bags instead."
Reusable bags "are a breeding ground for bacteria and pose public health
risks - food poisoning, skin infections such as bacterial boils, allergic
reactions, triggering of asthma attacks, and ear infections," noted a 2009
report. Harmful bacteria like E. coli, salmonella, and fecal coliform
thrive in reusable bags unless they are washed after each use, according
to an August 2011 peer-reviewed study, "Assessment of the Potential for
Cross-contamination of Food Products by Reusable Shopping Bags."
Cloth bags are worse for public health and the environment. As Daniel
Frank sarcastically notes, "Reusable tote bags" can "cause food poisoning
but at least they're worse for the environment than plastic bags." He
cites Jon Passantino of BuzzFeed News, who observes, "Those cotton tote
bags that are so trendy right now have to be used *131 times* before it
has a smaller climate impact than a plastic bag used only once." Yet,
there are progressives who want to ban plastic grocery bags in favor of
reusable cloth bags.
California's ban on plastic bags will do little for the ocean. Plastic
bags are less than 1% of all litter. Most plastic in the ocean comes from
China, India, and Indonesia, while only a tiny percentage comes from the
U.S.
The lack of benefit from cloth bags is illustrated by a 2011 legal
settlement between plastic bag makers and an importer of reusable bags,
ChicoBag. The plastic bag makers sued ChicoBag for its use of false claims
about the recycling rate and environmental impacts of plastic grocery bags
in its promotional materials. (Those false claims are also the basis for
municipal bans and taxes on plastic bags.) Under that settlement, ChicoBag
was required to discontinue its use of its counterfeit EPA website and
make corrections to its deceptive marketing claims, which had included
sharing falsified government documents with schoolchildren. It was also
required to disclose to consumers on its website that reusable bags in
fact need to be washed.
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-- Sean
... Any club that would accept me as a member, I wouldn't want to join.
--- MultiMail/Linux
* Origin: Outpost BBS * Johnson City, TN (618:618/1)