Watch out for ‘bagteria’
November 7, 2006 | 12:00am
Once more, with much more feeling, comes this friendly warning about "bagteria." Yes, while you know what’s inside your bag (or purse), you may not be aware of what’s on the outside (or bottom) of your bag. Most women carry one (a bag, that is) and they carry it everywhere they go – from the restroom to the boardroom, from the funeral parlor to the pizza parlor... We plop our bag on the floor of a public restroom, unmindful of what lurks in that oft-visited cubicle. And then we carry our bag straight to the dining table. Ever realized that it may not have been the restaurant food that once (or twice or thrice) gave you tummy trouble?
Microbiologist Amy Karen of Nelson Laboratories put some bags to a test and they were found to be "surprisingly dirty." The bags tested were not only high in bacteria but were high in harmful kinds of bacteria.
To get to the bottom of the problem, the bags harbor salmonella and E-coli that can make people very ill, pseudomonas that can cause eye infections, and staphylococcus that can cause serious skin infections.
In a sampling, four of five bags tested positive for salmonella. And worst, Nelson Labs found fecal contamination on the bags. "Some type of feces, or even possibly vomit or something like that," says Amy.
Which purses harbor the most "bagteria"?
According to Amy’s findings: Leather or vinyl purses tended to be cleaner than cloth purses, and lifestyle seemingly had something to do with it. Apparently, people who have kids generally tended to have dirtier purses than those without (mommies don’t have to figure that out). And look, moms: The bag of one single woman who frequented nightclubs had one of the worst contaminations of all.
Moral of the story: Never put your bag on your kitchen countertop or dining table. Hang it on a hook at home or in restrooms.
Experts advise that you treat your purse the same way you treat your shoes. You wouldn’t want to see your shoes sitting atop your kitchen counter or dining table, would you?
The microbiologists at Nelson give this handy tip: Wash cloth bags or use leather cleaner to clean the bottom of leather bags.
Here’s hoping you’ll carry this reminder from now on with you everywhere you take your bag.
How can I dispose of sacks of used paper that were accumulated all these years? I just can’t throw them away without destroying them because these materials are business-related. Big shredders are too expensive, small shredders break down lots of times, and I don’t want to burn the ozone layer.
– Rob Santiago
Dear Mr. Santiago,
Shredding your old business paper documents would really make them unrecognizable. In the absence of an appropriate shredder, you may wish to cut the paper discards into pieces using a pair of scissors, cutter or stripper.
This will be time-consuming, so you may want to ask the help of family members, housemates or co-workers. You will need to be extra careful to avoid being cut or hurt.
Another option is for you to tap your neighborhood’s eco-aides, Linis Ganda green warriors or the nearest junk shop dealers and request them to do the manual shredding for you, for a reasonable fee, in your garage or backyard.
I understand that some junk shops will just bale the paper discards and send them straight to a paper recycling company. This may be more convenient, but will not probably meet your need to make the materials undecipherable.
Hope you find this simple information useful.
– Manny C. Calonzo, Ecowaste Coalition
Says Santiago, "We find it absolutely deplorable that instead of providing free parking, commercial establishments have been using their car park facilities to generate extraordinary business income at the expense of consumers. Parking fees exacted by establishments are totally irreconcilable with the essence of the Consumer Act, which safeguards consumers and sets standards of ethical conduct for business and industry."
Santiago is the author or House Bill 2691, which seeks to forbid shopping centers, hotels, commercial arcades, and similar establishments from charging any and all fees for the use of parking facilities or spaces within their premises.
House Bill 2691 seeks to amend the Building Code, which mandates establishments to provide adequate parking spaces, but does not explicitly state whether or not such facilities should be extended free of charge to patrons.
According to Rep. Santiago, once enacted, the measure would harmonize the provisions of the Building Code on parking spaces with the mandate of the Consumer Act.
A joint report by two Senate committees said that "a logical interpretation" of the Building Code would imply that malls and similar establishments are "duty-bound to provide free parking."
Conducting a joint inquiry in the previous Congress, the Senate committees on trade and industry, and on justice and human rights denounced as "illegal" the collection of parking fees by malls and other business establishments. They urged the Office of the Solicitor General to take the necessary legal action to stop the continued collection of said fees.
The late Senator Renato Cayetano, as chair of the Senate justice and human rights committee, vigorously campaigned for free parking spaces (we vigorously agree!).
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