B8
THE ASTORIAN • THURSDAY, APRIL 9, 2020
Virus deals blow to plastic bag bans
By GILLIAN FLACCUS
Associated Press
PORTLAND — Just
weeks ago, cities and even
states across the U.S. were
busy banning straws, limit-
ing takeout containers and
mandating that shoppers
bring reusable bags or pay
a small fee as the movement
to eliminate single-use plas-
tics took hold in mainstream
America.
What a difference a pan-
demic makes.
In a matter of days, hard-
won bans to reduce the use
of plastics — and particu-
larly plastic shopping sacks
— across the U.S. have
come under fi re amid wor-
ries about the virus clinging
to reusable bags, cups and
straws.
Governors in Massa-
chusetts and Illinois have
banned or strongly discour-
aged the use of reusable
grocery bags. Oregon sus-
pended its brand-new ban
on plastic bags this week,
and cities from Belling-
ham, Washington, to Albu-
querque, New Mexico, have
announced a hiatus on plas-
tic bag bans as the coronavi-
rus rages.
Add to that a rise in take-
out and a ban on reusable
cups and straws at the few
coffee stores that remain
open, and environmentalists
worry COVID-19 could set
back their efforts to tackle
plastic pollution for years.
“People are scared for
their lives, their livelihood,
the economy, feeding their
loved ones, so the environ-
ment is taking a back seat,”
said Glen Quadros, owner of
the Great American Diner &
Bar in Seattle.
Quadros has laid off 15
employees and seen a 60%
decline in business since
Seattle all but shut down to
slow the pandemic. For now,
he’s using biodegradable
containers for takeout and
delivery, but those products
cost up to three times more
Elaine Thompson/AP Photo
Glen Quadros, right, owner of the Great American Diner & Bar, checks a takeout order as cook
Arturo Aguilar looks on in Seattle.
‘MY QUESTION WOULD BE, WILL IT BECOME
PERMANENT? I’M FINE WITH THE RESTRICTIONS
ON REUSABLE PLASTICS. IT MAKES A LOT OF SENSE,
AND THAT’S THE WAY TO GO FOR THE ENVIRONMENT.
BUT IF IT’S A PUBLIC HEALTH ISSUE, WE’VE GOT TO
FIGURE OUT SOME WAY TO DEAL WITH IT.’
Paul McNamara | shopper who has used his own bags for a decade
than plastic — and they’re
getting hard to fi nd because
of the surge in takeout, he
said.
“The problem is, we
don’t know what’s in store,”
Quadros said. “Everyone is
in the same situation.”
The plastics industry has
seized the moment and is
lobbying hard to overturn
bans on single-use plastics
by arguing disposable plas-
tics are the safest option
amid the crisis. Califor-
nia, Connecticut, Delaware,
Hawaii, Maine, New York,
Oregon and Vermont have
statewide bans on plastic
bags, and Oregon and Cali-
fornia have laws limiting the
use of plastic straws.
New York’s statewide
plastic bag ban is on hold
because of a lawsuit.
The Plastics Industry
Association recently sent
a letter to Alex Azar, head
of the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services,
and asked him to speak out
against plastic bag bans
because they put consumers
and workers at risk. And the
American Recyclable Plas-
tic Bag Alliance is doubling
down on its opposition to
plastic bag bans under a pre-
existing campaign titled Bag
the Ban.
Grocery worker unions,
too, have joined the chorus.
The union that represents
Oregon supermarket work-
ers is lobbying for a ban on
reusable bags, and a Chi-
cago union called for an
“end to the disease-transmit-
ting bag tax.”
Critics argue people with
reusable bags don’t regu-
larly wash them.
“If those bags coming
into the store are contam-
inated with anything, they
get put on the conveyor belt,
the counter, and you’re put-
ting yourself in a bad spot,”
said Matt Seaholm, execu-
tive director of the Ameri-
can Recyclable Plastic Bag
Alliance. “It’s an unneces-
sary risk.”
A study by the U.S.
National Institutes of Health
found the novel coronavi-
rus can remain on plastics
and stainless steel for up to
three days, and on cardboard
for up to one day. The Cen-
ters for Disease Control and
Prevention says it appears
possible for a person to get
COVID-19 by touching a
surface that has the virus on
it and then touching their
mouth, nose or eyes — but
it’s not thought that’s the
main way the virus spreads.
More studies are needed
to fully assess the dangers
posed by reusable bags,
which are mostly made of
fabric, said Dr. Jennifer
Vines, lead health offi cer
for the Portland metropoli-
tan area.
“It’s not clear that a virus
that you can fi nd on a sur-
face — whether it’s cloth or
something else — is viable
and can actually make you
sick,” she said.
For most people, the new
coronavirus causes mild or
moderate symptoms, such
as fever and cough that clear
up in two to three weeks. For
some, especially older adults
and people with existing
health problems, it can cause
more severe illness, includ-
ing pneumonia and death.
Some stores such as
Trader Joe’s and Target are
letting customers use their
own bags if they sack their
groceries themselves, while
others are banning them.
In Oregon, temporary
rules now allow dispos-
able “T-shirt” plastic bags
with no fee to customers.
Many stores ran out of paper
bags amid a run on grocer-
ies, accelerating the move to
ease plastic restrictions, said
Joe Gilliam, president of the
Northwest Grocery Associa-
tion, which represents 1,000
retail locations in Oregon,
Washington state and Idaho.
“There are some stores
out there that are saying,
‘For the time being, please
don’t bring those in.’ Other
stores are allowing them, but
... right now we’re asking
that only freshly laundered
ones come in,” he said.
Environmental groups,
well aware of the nation’s
current priorities, were at
fi rst unusually silent on
moves to temporarily roll
back plastic bag bans. But
they responded forcefully
after the plastics indus-
try asserted bag bans could
worsen the pandemic’s toll.
“The fear-driven gains
the industry was able to win
this month are likely to be
extremely short-lived,” said
John Hocevar, of Green-
peace USA. “The movement
away from throwaway plas-
tic is the kind of awakening
that is not going to be that
easy for the plastic industry
to stop.”
In the meantime, some
consumers are getting taken
by surprise.
Paul McNamara, who
has used his own bags for a
decade, said he was stopped
at the entrance of his regular
market in Hopkinton, Mas-
sachusetts, after the state
enacted a temporary ban on
reusable shopping sacks. His
ratty bags have corners rein-
forced with duct tape from
years of use; he instead left
with his groceries in plastic
bags.
“My question would be,
will it become permanent?”
McNamara said. “I’m fi ne
with the restrictions on reus-
able plastics. It makes a lot
of sense, and that’s the way
to go for the environment.
But if it’s a public health
issue, we’ve got to fi gure out
some way to deal with it.”
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