Paper or plastic? For Walmart shoppers in Connecticut, New York, and Colorado, the answer to this question will be “zero” from now on. The big box store officially eradicated all single use bags in these states last month.
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Walmart gets rid of single-use bags in Connecticut, New York, and Colorado
Although Walmart stores in these regions said goodbye to plastic bags this January, paper bags have been unavailable for even longer in some stores. Mike Lombardi, manager of the Walmart Supercenter in Lisbon, Connecticut, told WJAR they did away with single-use plastic bags back in June, and the state of Connecticut banned all plastic bags in July.
Additionally, Walmart shoppers in Vermont, Maine, New Jersey, Canada, and Mexico have been going bagless for even longer—many since 2021. According to Walmart, this bag ban will save over a billion single-use bags each year. That's no small feat!
Instead of using single-use bags, which can take a serious toll on the environment over time, customers are encouraged to bring their own reusable shopping bags. In the Lisbon store, those who have forgotten to bring their own can purchase reusable bags in the store for a small price.
Lombardi said shoppers have been adjusting to the change: “The plastic bag ban, you know, was tough to do and customers didn’t react so well, but after a while they got used to it and they adapted to it, so I think the same will come with this,” he told the news outlet.
Customers who have groceries delivered from Walmart, however, will still receive their orders in paper bags. All in all, though, this is a big step towards sustainability for the company; we'll be interested to see which states will follow suit next.
