Do you remember the days when you went to the grocery store and were handed a paper bag full of groceries, and maybe it was even double bagged because the groceries were heavy. Those bags were used for lunches and then for garbage. When they were transported to the landfill, they decomposed. Those were the bags that fit over your brother’s head when he was being a pain – and you didn’t have to worry about suffocating him. You could even make a mask for Halloween, cutting eye holes and drawing a face on them. Where did paper bags go?
With all the paper we recycle, why can’t we make paper bags again?
Plastic bags are now taboo too. You receive evil looks at the grocery store when you’ve forgotten the cloth bag and agree to pay $.05 for the privilege of having a bag to carry your groceries home in. Plastic bags were great to have around the house. They made great lunch bags to send to school in Vancouver when it’s raining. They are essential when you’re walking the dog and can even be worn as rubber boots if absolutely necessary!
Now we have cloth bags. They are in vogue. I would love to have the cloth tested to see how much of it is made from recycled plastic. We send so many of our bags to recycling where it’s compressed into plastic pellets and reformed into many different things. I just bet that one of those things is “cloth” bags.
Another challenge with cloth bags is the contamination that has been reported lately. Meat packaging that has leaked into the bag can cause harmful bacteria to grow inside the bag which may result in illness.
The Edson Leader reports that the Canadian Plastics Industry recently commissioned an independent study on a random sampling of cloth bags showing that 30 per cent of the sample had unsafe levels of bacterial contamination. Forty per cent of the sample had yeast or mold. Cynics in the crowd, (those in the blogging world) hinted that the study was the plastic industry’s way to lobby against cloth bag manufacturers to protect their own turf because less people are using plastic bags in favour of cloth. There is probably a grain of truth to this accusation.
As cloth bags are sold almost everywhere and are highly recommended, here are some tips to keep them healthy and ready to use.
Avoid cross contamination – place fruits and vegetables in one bag and meat in a different one.
Wash your bags regularly with soap and warm water.
Store bags in a well ventilated area.
Make sure the bags you leave in the car are washed and clean.
Keep Crisper Fresh-N pouches in your bags to absorb all smells.
