Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

This is the place for general and miscellaneous posts on topics which might extend past the boundaries of any specific region. No non-grocery posts.
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storewanderer
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Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by storewanderer »

Maine is putting off its statewide plastic bag ban, which was set to start in April, to January 2021.

The New York bag ban has been put off another 7 weeks from April 1, due to the ongoing lawsuit between the NYC Bodega Owners and the State of New York.

Some chain in PA/MD/DE called Redner's has banned reusable bags from being brought into its stores. Similar to how Starbucks, Dunkin, and 7-Eleven have banned customers from bringing reusable cups in for drink refills.

Meanwhile places with some of the highest levels of Coronavirus like CA and Seattle with long standing bag bans in place.

At this point, grocery employees should not be handling reusable bags nor should these bags be having any contact with the checkout counters. I think the reusable bags should be banned for health reasons (and this needs to be kept in mind in the future and a hard look needs to be taken at these reusable bags and if these bans are really the right thing to do) during this time but I suspect many stores in areas with bag bans like CA and WA do not have a good way to quickly get the thin bags back for this time period, and not enough paper bags are in inventory to use. Grocery employees are already getting exposed to thousands of customers daily and at a huge risk to contract this Coronavirus. The best thing that can be done at this point is at least not requiring them to touch these filthy infected reusable bags.

Also, no more putting the reusable bags on the self checkout either. This way at least the contamination from the bags stays off of the checkout counters. Self checkouts in CA Stores are absolutely filthy and I think a big reason for this is these dirty reusable bags. Or, maybe due to the bag ban and people not taking bags at all, they put that leaky meat, leaking chicken, leaking milk, directly onto the self checkout without a bag. But that filth is what then contaminates the reusable bag the next customer shows up and puts down to use.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by BillyGr »

Just FYI - while the enforcement in NY was put off until April (and now, apparently longer), the major store chains (supermarkets and as far as I saw prior to the current issues places like Walmart) were still adhering to it (people either using reusable bags or selling them paper ones for 5 cents, that charge being made by the stores outside of the metro NYC areas, as very few of the 62 Counties had decided to charge through the state law).

Last week or so, I did notice more of the smaller stores (drugstores, Dollar General/Family Dollar and similar) were using the plastic bags again - some may not have stopped at all, though it seemed more like they may have just had some leftover when March 1st rolled around, and once they heard they wouldn't be enforcing it immediately figured why not use them up.

Of course, when it comes to the virus itself one might note that NY has (or did yesterday) the highest number of total cases, even though this ban didn't start (even unofficially) until less than 3 weeks ago.
Also note that while NY numbers are high, what may not be seen on national reports is first that they have recently been doing more testing then many places, and also that somewhere around 90+ % of the cases so far are confined to the NYC area (the 5 counties that make up NYC itself, the 2 that cover Long Island and 2 or so just to the north of NYC proper) - the remaining 53 or so have far lower numbers (some even none at this point), which may throw off any comparisons.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by pseudo3d »

Hy-Vee has now banned reusable bags, though I'm pretty sure none of the states where Hy-Vee operates have plastic bag bans in place.

https://www.supermarketnews.com/retail- ... s-checkout

Additionally, Albertsons (at least the Seattle division) isn't banning them, but giving checkers the right to deny reusable bags and offer (in states that have fees/bans) paper or plastic at no charge.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by Bagels »

My local Albertsons is asking that we don't bring reuseable bags into the store, and is providing complimentary plastic bags (very cheap quality, not their standard bags).
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by storewanderer »

It will be interesting to see if these bans get enforced again or end up being overturned after this mess dies down.

There was a reason why single use plastics exist.

Figure out a better way to recycle the stuff instead of banning it.

It is easy for chains like Hy Vee and Redners to say no reusable bags, given they operate in few to no places with bag regulations. Also, hardly anyone uses reusable bags in their territories anyway, so not sure how many people would really care. But to ban the reusable bags in CA and WA with longer standing bag bans and more people using reusables would be a real problem for many people.

I was in an independent in CA today and they had the old thin single use bags back too. Bag fee is gone. But bag fee is still alive and well at Safeway.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by storewanderer »

Trader Joe's has banned reusable bags from being brought inside its stores. It is advising customers to leave them in their car and pack them in the car.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by klkla »

A Santa Monica newspaper posted a comparison how the markets in their city are reacting. It’s interesting because they’re all very different.

https://www.smdp.com/hour-changes-in-st ... ins/188079
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by storewanderer »

New Hampshire has banned reusable bags temporarily statewide and ordered stores go back to single use bags. All local bag bans have been, temporarily, banned. https://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/articl ... virus.html

Next to make this final, not temporary.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by BillyGr »

Doing my regularly needed Sunday morning shopping here in NY, I didn't see any notes nor did anyone say anything at the 2 supermarkets I was in, or the couple other stores (only one still asked if I wanted to buy a bag, which I still don't understand as the same chain in another county hasn't charged since the "ban" started on the 1st, and other stores in the same county give out paper bags free - they somehow got misguided info. that they had to charge the fee).

The closest I came to any change was that I was picking up medicine for someone yesterday at CVS and they had posted that cashiers would not handle reusable bags (thus meaning you could still use them but would have to pack your own, which isn't a major issue any time) - didn't, however see the same at a different CVS getting my stuff today.
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Re: Coronavirus and Plastic Bag Bans

Post by storewanderer »

UFCW in Chicago wants the bag tax suspended temporarily and Chicago Mayor says no.
https://chicago.suntimes.com/columnists ... -lightfoot

So much for the environmentalists arguing those trying to get bag bans rolled back temporarily are "plastics companies." No, they are the people working in the stores who do not need to be exposed to these dirty, smelly, bacteria filled bags. They never deserved the exposure, but they especially don't deserve it now.

They still use single use plastic bags in Chicago, just, with a tax attached...

Meanwhile Target has suspended bag fees at ALL stores in ALL states. Software update was rolled across their registers chainwide to eliminate the bag fee. No matter if the jurisdiction has a tax, fee, or otherwise. No more bag fee at any Target Store for the time being.
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