Your trip to the grocery store is about to change dramatically.
Supermarket cashiers no longer load carts with plastic bags filled with purchased cans, cleaning supplies, and ice cream. I don’t even get a paper bag.
Instead, you should bring your own bag or purchase a reusable bag from the store.
why?
On May 4, New Jersey will implement the toughest carry-on bag ban in the country, following a law signed into law by Governor Phil Murphy nearly 18 months ago.
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enact a law
First, there are things that are restricted by law and things that are not.
Regardless of the thickness of the plastic bags distributed at retail stores, all takeout plastic bags are eligible. There are some exceptions: You will receive a plastic bag when choosing fresh fruit, vegetables, loose nuts, coffee, baked goods, or when ordering store-bought sliced deli products or fresh raw meat or fish. I can.
The paper bag ban was pushed by the New Jersey Food Council, the lobby of the supermarket. At legislative hearings, representatives said paper bags are an additional cost to supermarkets and take up more space than plastic. He said it does not address addiction.
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Stores with more than 2,500 square feet of grocery floors, such as Walmart, Costco, and Target, also cannot distribute paper bags.
Marketplaces are now putting up signs, distributing information, and sending emails to prepare their customers. They sell reusable bags for customers who forget or don’t have enough in the store.
About three months ago, Rastelli Market Fresh, which has stores in Marlton and Deptford, sent an email and posted on social media about the change. The store uses paper bags instead of plastic bags.
Rastelli’s director of operations Chris Mentzer said, “A lot of people who didn’t get it were asking questions when they walked into the store. A state bulletin outlining the ban will be posted in the store.” This is the state’s duty, not ours,” he said.
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There are signs everywhere in the store, including the cash register. Notifications are also packed.
“We’re moving signage strategically throughout the store, placing signs in high-traffic delis and butcher departments,” Mentzer said.
Customers can purchase cloth bags starting at 99 cents at the store’s expense, he added.
Nature’s Corner Natural Market, which has stores in West Long Branch and Spring Lake Heights, has been using plastic and paper bags for years for customer convenience. To encourage customers to bring their own bags, the store offered a 25-cent discount for each bag used in an order.
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Owner Ed Levy welcomes delegations. He sells his reusable canvas shopping bags at cost and continues to offer customers a discount of 25 cents per bag.
“We are a landmark for all things healthy in our community and have been promoting compostable and reusable items since we opened,” Levy said. Eliminating paper bags is a dream come true for us.
“Essentially, customers are forced to use bags they already have in their home or garage,” he said.
Customers can also purchase canvas shopping bags for $1.99 or $2.99. You can also reuse cardboard boxes from store deliveries for free.
Paramus has already banned plastic bags, so Stew Leonard’s customers have to say goodbye to paper bags. This will be a “big change for shoppers,” said Nevin Phillippe, the store’s vice president. “In fact, the biggest thing for us right now is customer awareness.”
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Supermarkets must also consider other logistics, such as what happens when customers order curbside pickup online. This law was passed before the pandemic began, making online ordering much more popular.
Until the ban is implemented, these orders are often filled with paper or plastic bags. Different stores are doing their own thing.
Ruth Skadoot Jr., CEO of Middletown-based Food Circus Supermarkets, which owns five Super Foodtown supermarkets in Monmouth County, said: “I think that’s the biggest obstacle to get over.”
Two of his stores in Red Bank and Atlantic Highlands are already open under local government bans on so-called single-use plastic bags.
So, according to Scaduto, store employees may retrieve customers’ bags from their cars, bring groceries to carts, and then bag them in the car or pack the groceries into boxes. . At the Red Bank store on Tuesday, carts were stacked with boxes.
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Meanwhile, Senator Christine Collard, R-Passaic, drafted a bill exempting online orders for curbside pickup or delivery from the ban on plastic and paper bags.
“Obviously this was not taken into consideration when the law was passed. It makes sense to do,” Corrado said. in a statement.
Here’s what some supermarkets are doing:
shop light
According to ShopRite spokesperson Karen O’Shea, signage in the store reminds customers to “plan the ban” and bring reusable bags into the store. Encouraging all customers to bring reusable bags into the store when shopping, but for customers who forgot to bring their own totes after the new law went into effect in May We also offer reusable bag options at checkout.”
ShopRite said in an email to customers: “For stores that offer online shopping, he will be charged a flat rate of $1.50 for pickup and delivery orders, which covers the number of reusable bags needed for the entire order. ”
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stop & shop
Stop & Stop uses signs and announcements on in-store radios to inform customers of the bag ban, spokesperson Stephanie Schumann said. Reusable shopping bags will also be sold. A $2 reusable bag fee will be charged for pickup and delivery orders.
To learn more about Stop & Shop, watch the video at the beginning of this article.
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Whole Foods Market
Whole Foods, which currently uses paper bags, will sell reusable shopping bags at checkouts in stores. A Whole Foods Market spokeswoman said grocery pickup and delivery orders will be offered free of charge in reusable bags.
walmart
Retail giant Walmart “is working to roll out bagless pickup options alongside its efforts to explore the feasibility of reducing single-use plastic bags at checkouts,” the company said in a statement.
Customers can purchase a variety of reusable bags starting at 50 cents.
From May 4th to May 31st, customers using Walmart’s grocery delivery or express delivery options (including Walmart + Members) will receive their items delivered in a free reusable bag, Walmart said. Walmart will transition to bagless delivery starting June 1, asking customers to leave reusable bags or containers at delivery drop-offs.
Walmart customers using grocery pickup will receive a reminder in the app to bring a reusable bag to their pickup appointment.
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Wegmans
A spokesperson said customers are being notified of the bag ban through in-store signage and email reminders.
In addition, signboards with bag reminders are installed in parking lots and store entrances.
“Once the state ban goes into effect, we will use reusable bags to fulfill all online grocery orders for a fee of 35 cents per bag,” spokeswoman Mercy Rivera said in an email. Stated.
Brick shopper Dave Tober remembers when reusable bags first became available.
“I thought it was silly (and) inconvenient,” says Tober.
Once he made the switch, he said he realized just how much clutter and waste the single-use bags created. “It’s an unnecessary mess,” Tover, 56, said.
Staff writers Amanda Oglesby and Scott Fallon contributed to this report.
David P. Willis: [email protected]