Retailers prepare for ban on plastic bags

As of April 22 of this year single‑use plastic bags will no longer be used in Maine by retail establishments for check‑out, for produce and a few other applications. Owners and managers of retail establishments are looking at using different strategies to make the transition easier for their customers.
Maine is joining with a number of other states that are seeking to reduce the over 14 billion single‑use plastic bags used annually in the United States that then end up in the landfill, the landscape and the oceans. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency notes that plastic bags can take from 400 to 1,000 years to break down and that they don't biodegrade but photodegrade, which means that they break into smaller and smaller pieces of plastic that are then ingested by creatures large and small.
Retailers are preparing now rather than waiting for mid‑April to ready their customers for the change. Many are providing bags at check‑out for a small fee, including Marden's, which carries red logo bags for 39 cents each. The R&M IGA in Eastport handed out over 350 free bags in December in an effort to help its customers get ready, says owner Merilyn Mills. They also stock bags for sale. "There are so many things to think about and how to make it easier for customers. We'll be posting about it" on the store's social media page, she adds.
Brandon Lyons of Lyons IGA in Lubec notes that they "already offer reusable bags [for sale], but we may put up notices a week or two before" the April date to remind customers of the change. Sue Maenhout, manager at the Calais Marden's store, points to the store's logo bags available for sale, but she also echoes Mills' observation that many customers are getting into the swing of things and already bringing their own bags. "Cashiers have been noticing the trend," she says.
The law allows retailers to provide a recyclable paper bag or reusable plastic bag at check‑out with a minimum charge of five cents per bag, but large paper bags must contain a minimum of 20% post‑consumer recycled content. The large bags cost retailers at least 11 cents each, points out Mills. The law allows retailers to continue to sell plastic trash bags for people to use at home and to provide plastic produce bags. Plastic bags may also still be used to wrap newspapers, dry cleaning or tires. However, stores that provide exempted single‑use plastic bags must offer recycling stations within 20 feet of the store's entrance and must make sure that those products are in fact recycled.
Large stores with corporate offices such as the Tradewinds in Calais do not anticipate having a problem with the recycling market for their recycling of single‑use produce bags. Tradewinds Store Manager Carla McLellan explains that the store's recycling is done through its relationship with Hannaford and has been for years. Smaller stores may have a more difficult time meeting this requirement because of changes in recycling markets at the local level. Many municipal recycling programs have cut back on what they accept, and many have not accepted plastic bags ever because of the difficulty in finding a market.
Elena Bertocci, environmental specialist with the Maine Department of Environmental Protection, is aware of the issue. "Recycling markets for plastic bags and film are quite limited and are not readily accessible to entities producing small amounts of material, regardless of where they are located. Small stores would likely need to set up an elaborate consolidation network or come to an agreement with a large chain willing to accept their material to have any chance at finding a market. Both of these solutions are harder to achieve in places where there is less material available and there are fewer large chains."
Mills says, "As far as I know there is no market, so I'm looking at different bags for produce. I'll probably have to try a number of things" before landing on the right formula, she adds.
Customers may want to think about purchasing reusable produce bags, says Bertocci. "Most are made of mesh or cotton and work very well for storing produce because of their breathability. There are plenty of options available for less than a dollar apiece, and they likely pay for themselves rapidly through the reduction in food waste often associated with a more breathable bag. Retail locations may want to consider selling these alternatives."