RONNIE PARRILLO: Pretty soon, you won’t hear this at Rhode Island retailers anymore… that’s because the Ocean State has joined several others in banning single-use, plastic bags.
CLAUDIA MARTIN: “I think it’s going to be helpful for the environment.”
PARRILLO: The changeover to plastic bags is actually welcome news for some shoppers like Claudia Martin of Smithfield…
MARTIN: “I think it’s going to help the waterways and the birds not being affected by the plastics, um, I think sometimes people think it’s gonna be a big change and a nuisance, but it is a little bit of a change, and I think we can all get used to it very easily.”
PARRILLO: But some small business owners like Mike Terhune who owns Cafe Such-A-Bagel, don’t have the same outlook… a big part of Terhune’s sales are bulk orders, and they go, well, in plastic bags. But he says, he’s been left in the dark…
MIKE TERHUNE: “So, I haven’t heard officially from anybody in Rhode Island that I need to stop using plastic bags, so until I hear specifically from someone, we’re still going to use them.”
PARRILLO: The state says it will impose a one-hundred dollar fine on shops that use plastic bags this year… that includes the nearly eight-thousand small retailers across 39 cities and towns. A customer service representative at Dave’s Market in Smithfield didn’t want to be recorded, but says the company’s nine Ocean State stores have stopped using the plastic bags they already bought and paid for. Shopper Claudia Martin hopes the new law will inspire, if not require, more people to bring back some more environmentally friendly traditions of the past…
MARTIN: “I grew up with the brown paper bags, so I’m pretty much used to that. So I think it would be a better place for us all to be for the environment. And now I hope they start working on other plastics, um, because everything always tastes better in glass.”
PARRILLO: So, as Rhode Islanders head to the store this year, the first item they may need to put in their shopping cart? Reusable shopping bags. Ronnie Parrillo, N-C-C News.
SMITHFIELD, R.I. (NCC News) — Pretty soon, you won’t hear the sound of plastic ruffling at Rhode Island retailers anymore. That’s because the Ocean State has joined several others in banning single-use, plastic bags as the calendar flips to 2024.
“I think it’s going to be helpful for the environment. I think it’s going to help the waterways and the birds not being affected by the plastics, um, I think sometimes people think it’s gonna be a big change and a nuisance, but it is a little bit of a change, and I think we can all get used to it very easily,” said Claudia Martin, a shopper in Smithfield.
But some small business owners like Mike Terhune who owns Cafe Such-A-Bagel, don’t have the same outlook. A big part of Terhune’s sales are bulk orders, and they go in single-use plastic bags. He said, he’s been left in the dark by the state.
“I haven’t heard officially from anybody in Rhode Island that I need to stop using plastic bags, so until I hear specifically from someone, we’re still going to use them,” Terhune said.
The state will impose a $100 fine on shops that use plastic bags this year. That means nearly eight-thousand small retailers across 39 cities and towns. A customer service representative at Dave’s Marketplace in Smithfield said the company’s nine Ocean State stores have stopped using the plastic bags they already bought and paid for.
But for shoppers like Martin, she hopes the new law will inspire, if not require, more people to bring back some environmentally friendly traditions of the past.
“I grew up with the brown paper bags, so I’m pretty much used to that. So I think it would be a better place for us all to be for the environment. And now I hope they start working on other plastics, um, because everything always tastes better in glass,” Martin said.
As Rhode Islanders head to the store this year, the first item they may need to put in their shopping cart are reusable shopping bags.
