Plastic Bag Bans and the Coronavirus

Two weeks ago the cities of Boston and Cambridge took bold steps to issue emergency orders that would lift the retail plastic bag ban due to concerns surrounding the spread of Coronavirus by reusable bags. During our remote Board of Selectmen meeting last Tuesday, I urged our town to delay adopting the May 1st town wide ban, and thankfully the town administrator stated he was open to it. The following day Gov. Charlie Baker issued a state wide public health order banning reusable shopping bags during the Coronavirus pandemic. With the many public health concerns regarding the spread of the Coronavirus though reusable bags, many large cities are developing public health risk concerns due to the propensity these reusable bags have to increase infectious disease transmission.

On March 23rd the following order was issued by the City of Cambridge, “In a continued collective effort to halt the spread of COVID-19, Cambridge City Manager Louis A. DePasquale and Commissioner of Public Health Assaad J. Sayah, MD, today issued a temporary emergency order that restricts customers at essential retail establishments from using reusable bags after purchasing retail products. The concern from the City listed on its webpage was, “reusable checkout bags that have not been sufficiently disinfected could potentially contribute to the spread of COVID-19 among staff and customers at these establishments. “

Boston Mayor Marty Walsh said this “During this challenging time, we understand the retail establishments our residents rely on - like grocery stores, pharmacies, and restaurants - need added flexibility to best serve their customers,” Walsh said in a statement. “We are adjusting Boston’s plastic bag ordinance to give establishments and residents the help they need during this time.”

Plastic bag bans can be an emotionally charged issue. In the past proponents have discouraged people who have a difference of opinion on such plastic bag bans in a negative light, essentially concluding that if you are against the ban you must not care about the environment when nothing could be further from the truth. It takes more fossil fuels to produce, package, and transport brown paper bags.

When the ban was introduced in Stoneham via a citizen petition, it raised serious town wide implications that we are seeing now. I am glad for those leaders who have courageously demonstrated that they care about the health and welfare of their citizens, grocery workers, and the general public at large by halting the ban. The public health and infectious disease concerns coupled with the additional cost burdens placed on already severely hurt small and large businesses are real and being felt by many including laid off workers. I fully concur with such timely and necessary actions and share similar concerns for our community, our workers, and our businesses. Small and large businesses alike need all the help and support we can muster during this unprecedented time.

Having served on the Stoneham board for over 5 years I have learned to exercise my political muscles and speak out when I believe the town is heading in the wrong direction. I felt the ban was wrong for the town then, and moving forward I believe it is still wrong for our town. While the Coronavirus will eventually pass, the fact that reusable bags harbor germs and the potential for spreading infections will not change. Let us be mindful that we are living in challenging times and that this Coronavirus may not be the only infection that can threaten public health in the future. I have also heard from many of our vulnerable senior population who are at a much higher risk with regard to the Coronavirus who share these same concerns. Seniors are removed from the deliberative process as they unable to attend long town meetings but have expressed opposition to me regarding the ban. Seniors frequent supermarkets and pharmacies.

We must also remember not only our dedicated and brave heath care workers, public safety and law enforcement, but also all the restaurant and grocery workers especially those Stop and Shop in Stoneham who are selflessly stocking the shelves providing nutrition for our families and packing our products into these reusable bags. Our communities thank you.

My hope is that during this difficult and unprecedented time we can learn about the potential risks and long-term health and economic effects of feel good, trendy initiatives like the plastic bag ban. I believe the current pandemic crisis has opened the eyes of many who may have thought differently based on the one-sided information of proponents in favor of the ban. Just last week Dr. Deborah Birx who is part of daily briefings of the White House Coronavirus Task Force indicated that while we are in phase A, we can expect Phase B and C in the months ahead of us.
Perhaps cities and towns should be forward thinking and rethink their plastic bag ban.

The views in this column are my own. I can be reached by phone at (781)438-5720 or email at contactcarolineforinfo@gmail.com. Caroline Colarusso also serves on the Massachusetts Republican State Committee representing Stoneham, Wakefield, Melrose, Malden, Reading, and Winchester (1,2,3,8)