Got Your (Lead-free) Bags, Maine?

Have you heard the big news about lead being found in reusable plastic shopping bags? I’ll bet some of you may have already chucked your reusable bags and may have sworn them off altogether. Others may be wondering what to do.

Here’s my take: We definitely don’t want Maine people to stop using reusable bags over these recent concerns.

If you’re concerned about lead in reusable plastic bags, you can use and reuse canvas, mesh, nylon, or cloth bags, which are also washable for all your shopping needs and we urge you to do so.

Lead is a dangerous neurotoxin and has no business being in any product, let alone reusable shopping bags that come into contact with food. These recent discoveries highlight the need for new safer chemicals policies that require companies to test for and eliminate toxic hazards like lead in all consumer products. 

If there is lead in a reusable plastic shopping bags, it’s in the paint or dye used to color the design of the bag. Obviously, there are non-toxic ways to color these bags, and safer alternatives should be used for all applications.

Mainers collectively use and dispose of over 700 million shopping bags a year. That’s over 2 million bags used and two million bags thrown away every single day. These bags end up in landfills, on streets, in our lakes and streams and the bellies of wildlife. In the case of plastic bags, they can take decades, even centuries, to break down. Even then, they still leave toxic petrochemicals in the environment. 

Also, the creation of disposable paper and plastic bags uses valuable natural resources – natural gas and trees – to manufacture a product that is either reused once or quickly thrown away. 

Using reusable bags helps prevent billions of disposable plastic and paper bags from being used in the first place and keeps them out of our environment, not to mention reduces the use of precious natural resources, like natural gas and trees, to make them.

Although it’s illegal to sell products made with lead paint or dyes in the United States, companies still use them in products manufactured overseas and destined for our stores. 

It’s time to pass policies that require manufacturers to randomly test their products when there is credible evidence that lead or other toxic compounds like cadmium are being added overseas. This is what has happened for lead, cadmium and phthalates in toys and from what understand from recent data, the law is working to reduce and eliminate these compounds.

We also need new policies to identify and phase out the toxic chemicals that are legally added to products in this country each and every day. Check out some of my earlier blog posts for more on this subject and don’t forget your reusable bags next time you shop!

- Matt Prindiville, NRCM Clean Production Project Director

To see a WMTW news video featuring Matt, click here.

Comments

[B.]

I like your article and it really gives an outstanding idea that is very helpful.

[Susie]

Great and helpful post. Keep these coming, please.

[Beth]

WMTW Channel 8 interviewed Matt for a story about reusable bags that ran last night. You can read the story and watch video here: http://www.nrcm.org/news_detail.asp?news=3880