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Supermarkets 5 cents a bag... Short sightedness at it's best! (pg. 18)
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| Skipper |
| quote: | Originally posted by DigiNut
More on topic: Longos is apparently still not charging. No mention of bags at the cashier or on the bill. Good for me, since that's where I do 90% of my shopping. |
The longos in BCE has a sign saying it starts June 1. LOAD UP NOW! |
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| ChemEnhanced |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
Apparently the pilot project in milton has seen everyone's bill go up an average of 20% |
I can assure you that mine has gone up. |
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| ChemEnhanced |
| quote: | Back to plastic? Reusable grocery bags may cause food poisoning
Posted: May 20, 2009, 11:00 AM by Karen Hawthorne
plastic bags, health, environment
Get out your bleach and launder those reusable fabric grocery bags after each use. You're not clogging up landfill with plastic throw-aways, but your environmental conscientiousness could make you sick.
A microbiological study — a first in North America — of the popular, eco-friendly bags has uncovered some unsettling facts. Swab-testing by two independent laboratories found unacceptably high levels of bacterial, yeast, mold and coliform counts in the reusable bags.
"The main risk is food poisoning," Dr. Richard Summerbell, research director at Toronto-based Sporometrics and former chief of medical mycology for the Ontario Ministry of Health, stated in a news release. Dr. Summerbell evaluated the study results.
"But other significant risks include skin infections such as bacterial boils, allergic reactions, triggering of asthma attacks, and ear infections," he stated.
The study found that 64% of the reusable bags tested were contaminated with some level of bacteria and close to 30% had elevated bacterial counts higher than what's considered safe for drinking water.
Further, 40% of the bags had yeast or mold, and some of the bags had an unacceptable presence of coliforms, faecal intestinal bacteria, when there should have been 0.
"The presence of faecal material in some of the reusable bags is particularly concerning," Dr. Summerbell stated. "All meat products should be individually wrapped before being placed in a reusable bag to prevent against leakage. This should become a mandated safety standard across the entire grocery industry."
Don't use your cloth grocery bags for toting gym clothes or diapers or anything but your groceries to prevent possible exposure to a superbug called community-acquired MRSA, a highly antibiotic-resistant form of a common infectious bacterium, Dr. Summerbell cautioned.
The study was funded by the Environment and Plastics Industry Council (EPIC), an industry initiative to promote responsible use and recovery of plastic resources. EPIC is a committee of the Canadian Plastics Industry Association.
Conclusions from the study? This may have you gladly handing over the coins for plastic bags at the supermarket:
• The moist, dark, warm interior of a folded used reusable bag that has acquired a small amount of water and trace food contamination is an ideal incubator for bacteria.
• The strong presence of yeasts in some bags indicates the presence of water and microbial growth substrate (food).
• There is a potential for cross-contamination of food if the same reusable bags are used on successive trips.
• Check-out staff in stores may be transferring these microbes from reusable bag to reusable bag as the contaminants get on their hands.
• In cases of food poisoning, experts will have to test reusable bags in addition to food products as the possible sources of contamination.
Next steps? The study has been sent to the federal Sub-Committee on Food Safety currently investigating the safety of Canada's food system, federal and provincial health ministers and medical organizations across Canada with a request for immediate action.
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| Jayx1 |
| Dont tell toronto city council lest facts get in the way of their fantasies! |
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| daves |
| haha i wonder if this Canadian Plastics Industry Association-funded study would have seen the light of day if it produced anything other than results that helped to encourage the purchase of more plastics? |
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| yankeeBaby |
| Am I understanding this correctly? you have to PAY for grocery bags?? thats the exact opposite of here, where the grocery stores will pay YOU 5 cents to re-use the bags (and thus re-using/helping the environment......) |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by daves
haha i wonder if this Canadian Plastics Industry Association-funded study would have seen the light of day if it produced anything other than results that helped to encourage the purchase of more plastics? |
Id like to see an independent study too. But I wonder if a city of toronto council study would see the light of day if it came to the same conclusions? |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by yankeeBaby
Am I understanding this correctly? you have to PAY for grocery bags?? thats the exact opposite of here, where the grocery stores will pay YOU 5 cents to re-use the bags (and thus re-using/helping the environment......) |
Progressive thinking isnt much of a Canadian trait in political circles.
Thats why Canadians with grandiose ideas usually end up in the US or overseas |
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| yankeeBaby |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
Progressive thinking isnt much of a Canadian trait. |
hehe dont be so hard on canada, they do their thing!!
It just makes sense to me: encourage people to recycle and re-use by offering an incentive! Its only 5 Cents, but if you ad that to the change jar every week, I am sure it will add up!
Typically people save their bags for garbage anyways, so why not take them back to the store with you and get 50 cents (or whatever) back? works for me! ;) |
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| Jayx1 |
Authoritarian left wing governments use disincentives as a means to control the population. Incentives are reserved for societies that place more emphasis on personal choice and responsibility. Thats the fundamental difference between Canada and the US.
Although these days that gap is starting to narrow a bit. |
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| yankeeBaby |
| quote: | Originally posted by Jayx1
Authoritarian left wing governments use disincentives as a means to control the population. Incentives are reserved for societies that place more emphasis on personal choice and responsibility. Thats the fundamental difference between Canada and the US.
Although these days that gap is starting to narrow a bit. |
so do you think that the government simply doesnt *trust* the people to make the rights choices? |
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| Jayx1 |
| quote: | Originally posted by yankeeBaby
so do you think that the government simply doesnt *trust* the people to make the rights choices? |
Its obvious in Canada with all the crazy laws that keep getting passed. Obama comes from the same line of thinking but his policies arent micro-control oriented so its doesnt directly impact the populace like our laws.
NYC and California are the states that come closest to Canada when it comes to micro engineering peoples lives |
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