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Stop & Shop to remove single-use plastic bags in Connecticut

Grocery chain acts ahead of upcoming state-mandated ban

Russell Redman

July 29, 2019

2 Min Read
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This week, Stop & Shop plans to eliminate single-use plastic bags at checkout in all of its Connecticut stores.

The Ahold Delhaize USA chain said Monday that the plastic bags will no longer be available at its 91 stores in Connecticut effective Aug. 1. Starting on that date, customers at those locations can get a free reusable bag if they bring in one or more single-use plastic bags for recycling.

During August, Stop & Shop also will provide free paper bags at all Connecticut stores, where local laws permit. But on Sept. 3, the retailer will begin charging a 10-cent fee on paper bags.

In Connecticut, a law effective Aug. 1 calls for a 10-cent fee on single-use plastic bags. After June 30, 2021, however, the plastic bags will be banned entirely at checkout.

“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,” Rudy DiPietro, senior vice president of operations at Stop & Shop, said in a statement.

“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,” he added.

Related:Grocery chains make strides in sustainability

The single-use-for-reusable bag exchange program will continue while supplies last, with a limit of one per customer per visit, Stop & Shop said. Bags collected will be recycled into composite wood, which is used for decking, park benches, playground equipment and other applications.

Local stores also will offer a selection of reusable bags for purchase, including Stop & Shop Community Bags, which make it easy for shoppers to give back to the community. Each time a customer buys the $2.50 reusable bag, $1 will be donated to a Connecticut nonprofit of their choice.

Stop & Shop said that, last year, it recycled more than 360 million pounds of material, including plastics and cardboard, which diverted about 74% of the company’s waste from going to landfills. The Quincy, Mass.-based chain operates more than 400 supermarkets in Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, New York and New Jersey.

Zaandam, Netherlands-based Ahold Delhaize, Stop & Shop’s parent company, aims to recycle 80% of total waste across its operations by 2020. In 2016, the global food retailer’s Stop & Shop and Giant brands in the United States reached a milestone of reducing 1 billion single-use bags over a five-year period via improved bagging techniques and promoting the use of reusable bags with customers. All of the company’s U.S. brands provide and promote reusable bags.

Related:Big Y moves up plastic bag phaseout

About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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