The ban on plastic bags: An inconvenience for customers that can help littering, local store owners say

After making purchases Friday afternoon in Merced at Target on R Street, Cynthia Arismendez said she bought a bag for 10 cents to carry her items out, a charge that has never been mandatory in Merced County.

Not being able to rely on single-use plastic bags while shopping is a lifestyle change this election cycle made for residents in the county and the state.

Proposition 67 ratified Senate Bill 270, which prohibits grocery and other retail stores, depending on their sales and floor space, from using single-use plastic bags. Paper bags will be available to purchase for a minimum of 10 cents. The proposition passed with nearly 52 percent in favor of the ban, according to Ballotpedia.

“It’s accountability to help the environment.” Arismendez, 52, said. “It’s either that or carrying groceries out in our purses.”

The owner of Save More Market on G Street in Merced, Roma Kahlon, said the passing of the legislation will be an inconvenience for his customers, but he is in favor of helping to protect the environment.

“If that’s what we have to do, then we’ll work something out,” he said.

Kahlon has owned the market for 22 years, and said it sells everything from produce to beer, frozen foods and convenience-store items. As of now, he said, the store sells reusable bags for $1.

“Some customers don’t want to spend the money, you know,” Kahlon said. “They don’t care if bags are good or bad for the environment.”

It’s going to be hard for them, Kahlon said, but it will help with the littering problem outside of his store. He said he cleans the parking lot up to five times a day, picking up plastic bags, cans and wrappers.

“A lot of people will buy bags but some people go penny to penny, and they’re not going to spend 10 more cents for a bag,” he said.

Muhammad Dalia, owner of Merced Food Center at 1150 Martin Luther King Jr. Way, said the the passing of Proposition 67 also will make things harder for the store because customers won’t want to pay for bags.

The 24-year-old agrees the legislation will help with littering on the streets and with the financial side of his business, because the store will no longer need to buy plastic bags. He said his plan is to start selling reusable bags in January.

“I’m for it because a lot of people waste bags,” Dalia said. “I clean them up every morning. A lot of people want things double-bagged.”

Although Dalia predicts his customers won’t be happy to pay for paper bags, purchasing reusable bags will balance out the cost, he said, because you can use it for a while.

People are just going to have to keep bags in the car, said Merced resident, Deanna Brown while loading up her car with groceries from Save Mart on G Street. Brown, 71, said she already reuses plastic bags for dog litter or as trash bags and said the proposition can potentially be a “pain.”

Save Mart has been dealing with the plastic bag ban in different jurisdictions, said Stacia Levenfeld, executive director of public affairs for Save Mart. About half of the stores in other counties in California had ordinances already in place.

“It’s a change of practice and people just have to get used to it,” she said. “It’s a transition for customers to get used to putting bags in their cars.”

Save Mart offers a variety of reusable bags from 25 cents to a few dollars, Levenfeld said, and will have plastic bags in stores until they have a full inventory of paper bags.

Brown said she voted “no” on the legislation, but understands how the ban could help reduce littering because many people are careless. She said the law won’t really impact her too much.

“We can get used to anything,” she said.

Arismendez, a Merced resident, said she’s traveled to other counties in the state that already have the plastic-bag ban, and thinks using plastic bags is something that’s “taken for granted.” She said some people might be frustrated because in Merced, the ban happened so quick.

“No one had time to mentally prepare,” she said.

This story was originally published November 11, 2016 at 5:31 PM with the headline "The ban on plastic bags: An inconvenience for customers that can help littering, local store owners say."