For New Castle County shopper Carleigh Strang, the plastic-bag ban coming into effect next month will not change much in her day-to-day shopping.

“I use reusable bags, so I don’t see an issue. I do support the law,” said Ms. Strang, who was shopping at a Safeway in Glasgow. “I mean, I think it’s going to be useful. I definitely notice a lot of plastic bags and trash are usually often abandoned.”

However, while she supports the law, she worries it may not be as effective as lawmakers wish.

“They definitely tried this before, and they made reusable plastic bags, but people just threw them away,” said Ms. Strang. “So I fear that that’s going to happen again, and it’s going to make it pointless. But I definitely agree with what they’re trying to do.”

Starting July 1, the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control will be implementing a statewide ban on plastic bags.

According to the department’s website, the intent is to “help reduce beach and roadside litter, increase recycling efforts, and reduce the impact of plastic bags at regional recycling facilities that manage material from Delaware’s Universal Recycling program.”

A law passed in 2019 banned plastic bags that weren’t reusable, forcing retail establishments to provide ones made of reinforced plastic that would be seen as “durable.” However, as Ms. Strang observed, many consumers treated those bags the same as single-use plastic bags.

Therefore, in 2021, the state legislature passed a second law, updating the regulation to ban all plastic bags from being provided in stores, with a small set of exceptions for certain products and restaurants.

The updated law also requires stores to provide recycling bins specifically made for the single-use bags that are being banned, since those are unable to be picked up through curbside recycling programs.

Shopping habits

Some shoppers welcome kicking the plastic bag habit.

“I won’t buy less because of it or shop different stores based on what type of bag is offered,” said Lincoln resident Ken Hunt. “We utilize bags that we keep in our car and bag up in the parking lot. We have been warned for over a year this is coming. Let’s keep as much plastic out of our landfill as possible.”

Suzanne Marie of Bridgeville agreed.

“We have made the shift to reusable bags and have found it to be a lot easier,” she said. “We use the scan-as-you-go feature, along with our reusable bags, and it has made shopping easier for us. When we are shopping small stores, we like having less garbage at the end of the day and having everything in fewer bags.”

There are some plastic fans, like Mike Long of Georgetown, who noted, “We’ll be ordering plastic bags from Amazon and using them.”

However, DNREC encourages fabric bags brought by customers to businesses. Further, the department advises that these bags should be washed or cleaned after each use.

Benefits of ban

DNREC’s website outlines the benefits that the plastic-bag ban will bring to the state. Beyond reducing litter, increasing recycling efforts and saving landfill space, the rule is intended to help trash facilities that have to shut down when such bags get stuck in machinery.

“Each Delawarean uses about 434 plastic bags a year, and that means nearly 2,400 tons of plastic bags from Delaware end up in landfills annually,” says the site. “By decreasing the number of plastic carryout bags the public uses, a large portion of this plastic waste can be mitigated. This directly helps our environment by reducing the amount of unsightly plastic bags on our roads and waterways that can harm us and our wildlife.”

At a Rite Aid location in Glasgow, cashier Joseph Torres explained how employees would be implementing changes starting in July.

“All we’re doing is we have this recyclable bag here for 5 cents, and that’s pretty much it,” he said. “And then, we have the paper bags, as well. That’s pretty much what we’re allowed to do anyway.”

Jo Dougherty, a shopper at the Glasgow ShopRite, agreed with the intent of the law and supports the ban, especially due to its environmental impact.

“Starting years ago, I have had all the reusable bags because it’s an ecologically sound idea,” she said. “I agree with the theory behind it.”