Photo by Mr. T in DC

Plenty of people dislike the idea of charging five cents for a plastic bag. To some, it discriminates against those with fewer means. To others, though, it pushes consumers towards reusable bags, which are simply a health hazard.

WAMU writes today on a report that finds that using reusable bags may make us all feel better about ourselves, but they can also make us feel worse:

Adding to the criticism is a study co-authored by two environmental scientists, Charles Gebra of the University of Arizona and Ryan Sinclair of Loma Linda University’s School of Public Health. Their findings suggest reusable bags used to carry food can pose a threat to public health due to harmful pathogens which can accumulate over time.

“Probably gets into the bags from handling raw meat products like hamburger that leaks then the bacteria can grow to large numbers,” explains Professor Gerba. “Also we found that 50 percent of the people used their bags for other things like hauling dirty laundry, and carrying various other thing that serve to contaminate the bags.”

Storing the bags in your car trunk can accelerate the problem. In fact, Gebra and Sinclair say finding a washable bag and laundering it occasionally is key to avoiding contamination. The study also recommends reusable bag makers print advisories reminding users to launder them.

Of course, WAMU does note that the report was financed by the American Chemistry Council, which is better known as the plastic bag lobby. Regardless, it also seems like an exercise in common sense — if that reusable bag is being used to haul laundry and groceries, well, you might be putting at yourself at some additional risk. Then again, many more people probably suffocate on plastic bags than they do on reusable bags, right?