Why clerks won't bag your reusable tote at Safeway, other stores any more

A file photo of a reusable shopping bag. The bags have been popular in municipalities that adopted bans on single-use plastic bags, but now employees of some stores have been told not to touch them due to fears they might carry coronavirus pathogens. less A file photo of a reusable shopping bag. The bags have been popular in municipalities that adopted bans on single-use plastic bags, but now employees of some stores have been told not to touch them due to fears ... more Photo: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images Photo: Fiona Goodall/Getty Images Image 1 of / 3 Caption Close Why clerks won't bag your reusable tote at Safeway, other stores any more 1 / 3 Back to Gallery

A Safeway customer who couldn’t understand why a checker refused to bag her groceries turned to Nextdoor for an explanation. In a post Friday to her Pacifica and Daly City neighbors, she quoted the cashier as saying, “You’ll have to bag your own groceries, we were told we can make the decision ourselves.”

But the clerk did bag the purchases of the two shoppers in line behind her. Why wasn’t the courtesy extended to her?

The post received an astonishing 135 replies, several noting that in response to the coronavirus pandemic, Safeway and other stores have adopted a “hands off” policy when it comes to reusable bags. Apparently the shoppers behind her opted for either plastic or paper bags supplied by the store.

Safeway and Albertsons say if you bring your own bag, employees will not be able to touch them or fill them, so you’ll have to do your own bagging. Some stores, like the Safeway at 6310 College Ave. in Oakland, have a large sign informing customers of the policy change. At others, you might not learn about it until the cashier rings you up.

The policy is not unique to supermarkets. Trader Joe’s, Total Wine and More, Target and dollar stores are reportedly following similar procedures.

Some stores also are reserving the right to decline customers’ reusable bags and give them paper or plastic bags at no charge.

Remember the old days — three weeks ago — when shopping with a reusable bag was the environmentally responsible thing to do? Reducing plastic waste is, after all, a primary goal of waste collection and recycling centers, including Recology in San Francisco.

Now stores are worried that reusable bags might endanger both employees and customers because they could potentially transmit SARS-CoV-2, the virus that causes COVID-19.



But the odds of that actually happening are far from clear. For one thing, while scientists know that the virus can remain infectious on plastic surfaces for three days under optimum conditions (low temperature, low humidity, no direct sunlight), how long it can survive on cloth is not known.

Angela Rasmussen, a Columbia University virologist, told Mother Jones that no matter what type of bag you use for groceries, hand washing when you return from the store is the best method to stop the spread of the virus.

If you do want to keep reusing bags, wash cloth totes with detergent and plastic bags with disinfectant.

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Mike Moffitt is an SFGATE Digital Reporter. Email: moffitt@sfgate.com. Twitter: @Mike_at_SFGate