As New Hampshire Continues COVID Ban On Reusable Bags, Some Say Politics Is Trumping Science

This reporter’s under-the-sink plastic bag collection has exploded during the pandemic. (Annie Ropeik/NHPR)

Massachusetts recently announced that it was ending its pandemic moratorium on reusable shopping bags, saying towns could go back to reinforcing their bans on single-use plastic bags.

Meanwhile, New Hampshire and many other states are still not letting shoppers bring their reusable bags to stores. But is that actually helping to slow the spread of coronavirus?

The answer is complicated – and it’s been frustrating for residents like Elizabeth Shelly of Manchester. She says her bag of bags has been growing steadily since the pandemic began.

“They come home, they get balled up, they go somewhere, and they live there until they get thrown out,” she says.

Shelly used to grocery shop with reusable cloth and plastic bags. But since the early days of New Hampshire’s coronavirus response in mid-March, her bags have not been allowed in stores. Clerks have to give out single-use paper or plastic bags instead.

The rule came out of the fear that the virus can live on certain surfaces – including plastic – carrying COVID-19 from people’s homes, to store workers and other customers.

The science around that is still developing.

But Shelly is worried the pandemic has interrupted a good habit for her and a lot of other people. She was just beginning to get consistent about bringing her reusable bags with her every time she shopped.

Read the rest of this story at NHPR’s website.