Milford's Big Y is Saying Bye-Bye To Plastic Bags

MILFORD, MA- Big Y supermarkets across Massachusetts and Connecticut will be eliminating plastic bags from checkout counters, including the Milford location off Rte. 109.

The company announced that plastic bags will officially be gone from all 70 locations by 2020. Currently Big Y uses 100 million plastic bags at their checkouts each year. Big Y has been complying with single use plastic bag bans in 6 of its local communities in Massachusetts since 2014.

"Customers in those communities are delighted with the ban, are supportive of environmentally responsible business practices and have been strong proponents of using reusable bags as an alternative to plastic and paper," a press release from the company says.

Milford Big Y's store director Jeff Hamel says the store has seen strong feedback from customers in the community. "They want to know how they can help and get more information on it. I think everyone sees the impact of plastic," Hamel said. With the switch coming in 2020, Big Y stores are offering discounted pricing and promotions on their reusable bags through 2019. Hamel said the Milford store has always had good sales numbers for the reusable bags, but he hasn't seen a particular increase since the announcement to ditch plastic bags.

The move to stop using plastic is a company-wide initiative to promote environmental consciousness.

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