Usually we could say “who could have seen this coming?”, but, actually, this is one that’s more of “no one thought this would happen”
New Jersey banned plastic bags. So, people are stealing grocery store shopping baskets
Grocery store customers are walking off with those plastic hand baskets you find in the supermarket, an apparent consequence of New Jersey’s plastic bag ban that went into effect this spring.
“They are just disappearing,” said Louis Scaduto Jr., chief executive officer of Middletown-based Food Circus Super Markets, which owns four Super Foodtown stores in Monmouth County. “I may actually have to just do away with them soon, can’t afford to keep replacing them,” Scaduto wrote in a text message.
It’s not just happening at Super Foodtown. Stop & Shop in Long Branch didn’t have any hand baskets during a recent visit. ShopRite in Freehold Township didn’t have any either.
“Like other retailers across the state, we have experienced theft of our handheld shopping baskets – an unintended consequence of the ban on plastic and paper bags,” Stop & Shop said in a statement.
Yeah, see, it’s not just plastic, but, the paper bags are gone, too. I have a bunch of big plastic reusables for Lidl that I’ve paid for, keep them in the truck, but, I usually do not buy that much at Lidl (I have a bunch of paper for when I’ve forgotten them). I hit Walmart for the big shoppings, and I save the plastic bags and reuse them for all sorts of things.
In May, New Jersey implemented the strictest carryout bag ban in the nation, outlawing plastic bags of any thickness with the exception of plastic bags used for fresh vegetables, deli meats and baked goods. Paper bags at supermarkets, and other stores with large grocery departments, are not allowed either.
Customers were forced to bring their own bags to the store or buy a reusable one at the checkout line.
Instead, many are just walking out with the hand baskets. In fairness, my Walmart has alarm tags on their, because some people are, let’s generously call them, assholes.
“We are aware of random reports that grocers are experiencing the loss of these hand baskets to varying degrees,” said Linda Doherty, president and chief executive officer of the New Jersey Food Council, in a statement. “We view this as a short unintended consequence of the new state law.”
Short, because stores will stop offering them.
Read: Surprise: NJ Banned Plastic Bags, So, People Are Stealing Shopping Baskets »
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