On March 1st, the Plastic Bag Ban Law goes into effect in New York State. The law is an effort to cut the amount of plastic that ends up in landfills and in the environment.
This law applies to most single-use plastic bags provided by grocery stores and other retailers. Retailers will be replacing plastic bags with paper bags, but at a cost. And we aren’t just talking about the 5¢ fee that you will pay, they also come with many negative environmental impacts. At Stewart’s Shops, we are encouraging our customers to use reusable bags.
What does the Plastic Bag Ban mean for you?
- On March 1st (or before depending on supply), you will no longer be able to get a plastic bag at Stewart’s Shops
- Paper bags will be available for 5¢
- Reusable bags are available for 99¢ at all shops
- We will even have insulated bags available in March for $2.59 at all shops, and it’s in time for the next half gallon ice cream sale. We really do make your life easier!
We encourage all of our customers to use reusable bags. The current plastic Stewart’s bags are so durable, you can even re-use those!
The Downfalls of Paper:
There are pros and cons to all legislation and at Stewart’s Shops, we will continue to encourage our customers to choose reusable bags as there are many drawbacks to using paper bags.
Here’s the Scoop on Paper:
- They are heavier and take up more room than plastic bags
- They are more expensive to recycle than plastic bags
- Paper bags don’t biodegrade easily in landfills
- People don’t tend to reuse paper bags
- They have a larger carbon footprint due to their production and distribution
Did you know?
1000 plastic bags weigh 27 lbs and 1000 paper bags weight 106 lbs– WOW that’s a big difference!
That means more trucks need to transport paper bags which results in more gasoline, more emissions and more pollution, yikes!
Look for Stewart’s reusable bags for sale at the register.