COVID

Confusion in stores as state lifts order that banned reusable grocery bags

“Requiring cashiers to be the ones who inform customers this week that they have to pay for bags again is just cruel.”

By Arianna MacNeill

July 13, 2020

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The state has rescinded its order from the height of Massachusetts’s COVID-19 surge that prohibited the use of reusable bags and allowed cities and towns that had banned single-use plastic bags to use them again during the pandemic.But with those municipal plastic bag bans now back in effect, the business community has been left confused, and feeling as though there wasn’t enough notice.“It’s bad enough that store workers have to enforce mask wearing,” the Newton Needham Regional Chamber wrote in a post on its website. “Requiring cashiers to be the ones who inform customers this week that they have to pay for bags again is just cruel.”A March 25 order from state Department of Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel prohibited the use of reusable shopping bags in grocery stores, pharmacies and food programs “until further notice,” and also temporarily overturned local ordinances banning single-use plastic bags.That order was rescinded on July 10, according to the state’s website. The rescission also eliminates occupancy limits for grocery stores.MASSPIRG praised the decision to lift the order.“This is a home run – good for the environment, for public health, for reducing waste, and for protecting both workers and shoppers,” Janet Domenitz, executive director of MASSPIRG,  said in a news release. “We are grateful to the governor and his team for making this decision.”But for businesses in the 139 communities that ban single-use plastic bags, with some charging for paper or reusable bags, the Newton Needham chamber wishes there had been more time to make the switch back.“Reinstating bags bans, effective immediately, doesn’t give business owners a chance to use up their stock of existing plastic bags or a chance to stock back up on paper bags if they need them,” the post said. “Even 30-60 days advance notice would have been a help.”The Retailers Association of Massachusetts said the drop of the emergency order could lead to confusion in places with plastic bag bans.“Also, enforcement and potential flexibility at the local level may vary as we transition back to reusable and/or paper bags in most communities,” the association said on its website.  “With some confusion a certainty, we have been in contact with the MA Municipal Association to urge their cooperation in seeking flexibility from cities and towns during this transition.”