David P. Willis
MIDDLETOWN, N.J. – A customer at a grocery store walks away with a plastic basket they found at a supermarket.
“They’re just disappearing,” said Louis Scaduto Jr., chief executive of Middletown-based Food Circus Supermarkets, which owns four Super Foodtown stores in Monmouth County. In a message, he wrote, “In fact, we may have to deprecate them soon. We can’t afford to keep replacing them.”
It’s not just a superfood town. Long Branch’s Stop & Shop was missing his basket on a recent visit. Neither did ShopRite in Freehold Township.
“Like other retailers in the state, we have had our own shopping baskets stolen,” Stop & Shop said in a statement. “This is an unintended consequence of the plastic and paper bag ban.” .
Senior dies after drinking dish detergent:Woman with dementia dies after California senior center provides cleaning solution to residents
Fatal Oregon grocery store shooting:Safeway workers ‘acted heroically’ to disarm shooter who killed two at Oregon store: What we know
In May, New Jersey implemented the nation’s toughest carry-on bag ban, banning plastic bags of any thickness except those used for fresh vegetables, deli meats and baked goods. Paper bags are also not allowed in other stores with large grocery aisles.
Customers were forced to either bring their own bags into the store or purchase reusable bags at the cash register.
The New Jersey Food Council, a trade group representing the state’s grocers, said customers “most of the time” were prepared for the single-use bag ban and adhered to state-mandated bans. He said that
Stores were hung with signs urging customers to bring their own bags or purchase other bags. Other signs touched on another issue: plastic hand baskets that customers can carry around the store and collect a few items for checkout.
“Hand baskets must be kept in store at all times,” read a sign at Stop & Shop in Middletown. “thank you very much.”
Some customers have asked me. Others have not.
“We are aware of random reports that grocers are losing baskets of these hands to varying degrees,” Linda Dougherty, president and chief executive of the New Jersey Food Council, said in a statement. We see this as a short, unintended consequence of the new state law.”
Some grocers are increasing orders, while others are considering doing away with baskets, Dougherty said.
“Some stores are posting signs reminding customers to leave hand baskets in the store, or using in-store public address systems to convey a similar message,” Dougherty said. rice field. “I think most of the time people simply forgot to bring it back.”
This is due to bag bans in other states and local governments, she said. “It’s not a new trend,” she said.
Karen O’Shea, a spokesperson for ShopRite, said some stores have gone without baskets following the ban on single-use bags. Some of her ShopRite stores have posted signs asking customers to keep their baskets inside the store.
“We hope that people who use our baskets remember to leave them in the store when they are done shopping so that the basket remains a resource for all of our customers,” said O’Shea.
David P. Willis: [email protected]