Since the Chinese Virus has been wreaking havoc all over the United States (and the world for that matter) some people seem to have cracked. “Social distancing” and mandated quarantine in addition to loss of revenue due to forced closure of businesses have taken their toll on people. Individuals have been doing things that are just plain odd and out of character – even in places known for being strange already. One such place is San Francisco, California. The human-waste-on-the-ground capital of the United States of America. And NOW… ground zero for the war on bags.
Environmentalists scored a victory for themselves back in 2007 in San Fran when the first law was passed that banned single-use plastic bags. The rationale was that these bags couldn’t really be recycled and they caused significant harm to the environment. They’d get into oceans and choke up aquatic life. Or wind up in large collections of trash on the side of the road. But plastic bags were not the only ones to get put on the proverbial chopping block. Paper bags were, too.
Banning paper bags seems strange. If a person thinks that plastic bags are harmful to the environment, then surely they would think paper bags aren’t, right? They can be recycled, trees are renewable resources, and they are quite literally “green.” So what’s the problem? Well, too many trees must be chopped down and the carbon footprint of factories that manufacture single-use paper items is too much for the globe to bear.
The only solution acceptable to environmentalists in this situation is the advent of the re-usable grocery bag – a canvas tote with handles on the side. You’re being friendly to the environment by not using a single-use bag and canvas material is renewable cotton and/or linen. Seems like a slam dunk! That is… until the China Virus pandemic breaks loose and people begin to freak out over EVERYTHING – including very basic things like bags.
Canvas, re-usable bags are now banned because they could possibly harbor the China Virus. As crazy as that sounds, it does sort of make sense. How often does a person wash their canvas bag? Probably not often, if ever. And all types of raw food would go into that bag on a regular basis from the grocery store. Then think about the times it was placed on the ground in a vehicle where dogs and cats may also frolic around. Or the times little Timmy who just got over chicken pox rubbed his greasy mitts on the bag.
So now, paper and/or plastic may make a big time comeback in San Francisco. At least just for a while. Maybe permanently. Because the new rationale may be that human life is slightly more important than saving a few trees that can be replanted over and over. But then again, maybe not – because that makes a little too much sense.
