Reusable Grocery Bag
by Catherine Haug, Nov 3, 2013 (photo, right, from This Domestic Life blog)
Do you answer the question, “Paper or plastic” with, “Neither, I’ve brought my own” when you check out at the grocery store? If so, then listen up.
You’ve probably seen some headlines warning about bad microbes lurking in your reusable grocery bag. Is there any truth to this? See Are Reusable Shopping Bags Really a Hazard to Your Health? by Jason Best (1).
Should we go back to having to choose between polluting our planet with plastic bags, or deforesting the planet to make paper bags?
I say “No way.” But there are things we can do to lessen the risk of bad bugs.
Reusable bag tips for avoiding ‘bad bugs’
When you put a package of chicken breasts in the bag, there is a risk that some of the juices could leak out of the package and find a new home in your bag. Here are some suggestions on how to avoid contamination in your shopping bag:
- Bring some old plastic bags with you, the kind from the produce section. Then put that chicken (or other meat( package in one of those old bags, tie up the bag and put that in your shopping bag. When you get home, wash out that old plastic bag (using real soap such as a bar of soap,* not dishwashing liquid), let it dry, and take it to the store next time for reuse.
- I carry several old plastic bags in my shopping bag, just for this purpose. When I get home, while I’m washing them out, I inspect them for holes or damage, and toss them into a recycle bag if I find any damage. Of course, we can’t recycle them here in the Flathead – yet – but I hold out hope for the future.
- Launder your shopping bag regularly, at least weekly, whether you’ve used it only once or 10 times. Ideally you would launder it right after each use – especially if you don’t put your packaged meat in a protective bag. When you launder the bag, use REAL SOAP, not laundry detergent. See Gathering Summary: Homemade laundry soap and GMO discussion, with Sheree Tompkins, 022713 (2) for instructions to make your own real laundry soap. Or launder it by hand in the sink, using Kirk’s Coco Castile, Fels Naphtha, or regular bar soap.* Then rinse it well and hang to dry.
* Why the emphasis on using real soap to wash these bags? Because real soap is naturally antibacterial, whereas laundry detergent and dishwashing liquid is not (unless antibacterial agents have been added, which has it’s own issues). See my 2011 post: Soap vs Detergents for more.
On a related topic: Teach your kids to launder their backpacks regularly, too.