Stop & Shop eliminating plastic bags in all northeast stores, starts charging for paper

QUINCY - You won't be hearing "paper or plastic?" at Stop & Shop anymore. The Quincy-based supermarket chain plans on getting rid of all single-use plastic bags at northeast stores soon, and is already charging customers per paper bag.

Stop & Shop tells WBZ-TV the move shows a commitment "to sustainability and helping to protect our environment."

"In addition to eliminating all single-use plastic bags from stores across the Northeast by July 2023, a taxable 10-cent charge is now applied on all paper bags provided to customers in an effort to minimize waste and encourage customers to shop with reusable bags," a Stop & Shop spokesperson said in a statement.

The supermarket is selling reusable bags at all of its stores for as little as 10 cents.

Many Massachusetts shoppers are already used to bringing their own bags to the grocery store. According to the Sierra Club, Massachusetts has more local plastic bag bans than any state outside California, with 157 cities and towns regulating single-use plastic shopping bags. 

Wegmans eliminated plastic bags at all of its supermarkets at the end of 2022.