Supermarket Plastic and Paper Bags Could Be Gone by Summertime in Massachusetts

Whether you bring your own bags to the grocery store or you ask for paper bags at checkout, soon there could be NO bags provided by all grocery stores across the state.

According to the Associated Press out of Boston, a group that is representing supermarkets and grocery stores across the state is offering support for a statewide ban on single-use plastic bags.

This would mean we would have to bring our own bags or purchase recyclable bags from the store. We no would longer get the basic plastic or paper bag that we've know for at least a century. I'm usually very good about bringing my own recyclable bags with me for our grocery shopping but I have to admit, there is the occasion when I forget them at home. This is when I would always request a paper bag and politely ask the bagger to "stuff" the bags with as much as they possibly could to cut down on how many bags I'd be taking from the store.

There will be a public hearing this Tuesday held by a legislative committee on a bill that would prohibit retailers from providing customers with single-use carryout bags at the registers. The Massachusetts Food Association plans to testify in support of the ban but they will ask for a longer phase-in period than the original August 1 date.

The group says they would rather a single, uniform statewide regulation in nearly 100 cities and towns here in Massachusetts. New York recently approved the ban and California and Hawaii have statewide prohibitions, too.