Stop & Shop Getting Rid of Single-Use Plastic Bags in CT
On Aug. 1, the Stop & Shop Supermarket Co. LLC will become the latest supermarket operator to eliminate single-use plastic bags at checkout, removing the items from all 91 of its Connecticut stores. To help customers make the switch to reusable bags, the grocer will provide a free reusable bag to all Nutmeg State customers bringing in one or more single-use plastic bags to a store for recycling, with a limit of one per customer per visit while supplies last.
In addition, Stop & Shop will offer paper bags at no charge during August at all stores where local laws permit, with a 10-cent fee for paper bags starting Sept. 3.
“We know that the environmental impact of plastics is something our customers and communities care about here in Connecticut, so we’re eliminating single-use plastic bags well ahead of the state-mandated timeline – and we’re also placing a 10-cent fee on paper bags to encourage our customers to make the switch to reusable,” said Rudy DiPietro, SVP of operations at Quincy, Mass.-based Stop & Shop. “We also appreciate the fact that it’s going to take our customers time to make this adjustment, so we’re waiving the fee on paper throughout the month of August at most stores, offering reusable bag giveaways, and doing everything we can to help make the transition an easy one.”
The single-use plastic bags collected at the stores will be recycled into composite wood, which is used for things like decking, park benches and playground equipment. Local stores sell a range of reusable bags, including Stop & Shop Community Bags, which enable shoppers to help their local community. Each time a customer buys a $2.50 reusable bag, $1 will go to a Connecticut nonprofit of their choice.
In 2018, Stop & Shop recycled more than 360 million pounds of material, including plastics and cardboard – diverting about 74 percent of the supermarket chain’s waste from going to landfills.
Other food retailers eliminating single-use plastic bags include Big Y (also in August), Kroger, Natural Grocers and Wegmans
Stop & Shop employs almost 60,000 associates and operates more than 400 stores throughout Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey. Parent company Ahold Delhaize USA is No. 4 on Progressive Grocer’s 2019 Super 50 list of the top grocers in the United States.
