A shopper places her goods into her car outside a supermarket in Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, Aug. 10, 2018. New Zealand plans to ban disposable plastic shopping bags by next July as the nation tries to live up to its clean-and-green image. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Friday that New Zealanders use hundreds of millions of the bags each year and that some of them end up polluting the precious coastal and marine environment. (AP Photo/Mark Baker)
A shopper places her goods into her car outside a supermarket in Christchurch, New Zealand, Friday, Aug. 10, 2018. New Zealand plans to ban disposable plastic shopping bags by next July as the nation tries to live up to its clean-and-green image. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern said Friday that New Zealanders use hundreds of millions of the bags each year and that some of them end up polluting the precious coastal and marine environment. (AP Photo/Mark Baker) Credit: Mark Baker

I too am perplexed by Gov. Chris Sununu’s order to discontinue the use of reusable grocery bags.

According to the New York Times article on March 26 (“Who Knew Grocery Shopping Could be so Stressful?”) while “bacteria could persist on and in reusable checkout bags, . . . this is not a reason to stop using them. Wash and wipe bags when you can, and wash your hands after using them. Offer to pack your own groceries to protect the checkout person from your germs.”

The article goes on to remind us that using reusable bags “not only helps the environment but can serve as a reminder of the link between the environment and our health.”

I would also submit that reusable bags may also reduce exposure. After I unload my groceries, I toss my bags into the trunk of my car. Since I shop maybe once a week, that leaves plenty of time for any contaminant to disperse, so my bags are completely virus free. When I get to the store, I grab my bags, throw them into the grocery cart, do my shopping and then I bag my own groceries. No one else in the stores (except for the grocery cart) comes into contact with my bags. That seems far safer than having the check-out clerk or bagger grab a bag that has been shuffled around the store by who knows how many hands. Plus, what happens when the stores run out of bags?

I would ask Gov. Sununu to rescind his order immediately and just rely on good common sense so that we can save the environment, which will save many more lives in the long run.

Susannah Colt lives in Whitefield.