Sobeys shoppers will soon have to adjust their habits: come the end of the month, the grocery store will no longer offer plastic bags.
The chain says the move will take 225 million plastic bags out of circulation annually.
Jim Cormier with the Retail Council of Canada says there will be lots of other options available at Sobeys, including the familiar reusable bags, and paper bags for 10 cents each.
He says as trends change, stores are providing more options for consumers.
“Polypropylene bags, your reusable bags that you’ve seen at grocery retailers for years. You know, paper is an option for some retailers. Some are going bagless, some are using mesh bags, there’s lots of different alternatives,” he said.
Cormier says all shopping bags come with their pros and cons, and all impact the environment in some way.
“There’s really no such thing as being able to provide a bag that does not have an environmental footprint,” he said.
“There are studies that show that there’s a greater environmental footprint in making a paper bag in making a single-use plastic bag, but on the other end, of course, a paper bag is recyclable, it’s compostable, it breaks down. It’s easier to deal with on that end that the single-use plastic bag is.”
Cormier says the Retail Council has no preference in shopping habits but is hoping consumers can adjust to sustainable shopping trends.
“We’re agnostic when it comes to that sort of thing, we just want governments to be clear on showing where the goalposts are,” he said.
Cormier says shoppers and retailers alike will have to start changing their habits.
‘We just ask that customers be patient as these adjustments happen and understand that change is afoot. In many respects, it’s been change that’s been put on retailers by governments. Adjustments will take time, but retailers will do their very best,” he said.
The ban comes into effect on January 31 in Sobeys stores across the country.
