No more plastic? It’s fantastic, say Peterborough small businesses that have moved on from plastic bags

Shoppers at Cottage Toys in Peterborough haven’t been handed a plastic bag in many years, says employee Megan Meyer, and they never will.

Meyer has been working at the store, located on Charlotte Street in the downtown area for two years, but has been shopping there for 30, and for as long as she can remember the store has offered alternatives to plastic.

“It’s horrifying how much plastic goes out,” said Meyer.

In December, Canada’s new rules on single-use plastics went into effect, and the import or manufacture of bags, straws, stir sticks, utensils and other products were outright banned. By next December, the sale of these items will also be prohibited.

Small businesses in Peterborough seem to be adapting though, with many having already discarded plastic in favor of paper or reusable bags.

Those are the options available at Cottage Toys, with Meyer saying it’s more than just retail stores trying to do better.

“Even the clothing we get in is brands actively trying to cut down,” she said.

Cottage Toys is “pretty darn environmentally conscious,” she added, noting more stores are doing their part to cut down on single-use plastics.

And while the store has always been trying to be greener, Meyer notes that’s not always what the customer wants.

“Even in the past, (the owner) was trying to bring in brands that didn’t always sell, sometimes the consumer didn’t always support that, maybe because it’s too expensive.”

But customer habits do seem to be changing, and there are some big brands going green and forgoing plastic, notes Meyer. Doing away with plastic bags may also attract environmentally conscious customers, she adds.

John Martin says his business, John Roberts Clothiers, hasn’t been using plastic bags for close to 20 years.

“We like paper bags,” said Martin. “We didn’t want to put plastic in the environment, and the other reason is we like the look of it.”

The business has never been a big consumer of plastic, and Martin notes most small businesses appear to have moved on from plastic bags.

“All the other clothing stores I can think of use paper,” he added, noting he’s also seen lots of reusable bags.

Paper bags come in all kinds of sizes, colors and have different stores’ logos printed on them. Martin’s bags are brown with a distinct gold logo for the store, and he thinks it looks classy when customers walk out of the store with them.

“There was a day when we did use plastic bags for some things, but even 20 years ago they were talking about someday getting rid of them,” he added. “I think everybody needs to do what they can nowadays.”

Nicole Elson says since Day 1 her business, Rawscoe’s Sport Collectibles, has been using paper bags.

“We wanted to be environmentally friendly and with this it’s easy to put our logo on it,” said Elson, who opened the store with her husband nearly four years ago.

The cost isn’t too high, with a single small bag costing 55 cents to the business, she notes. But customers can also easily reuse them as gift bags.

There are times when plastics have their use, says Elson, noting she repurposes them for garbage bags in her home.

Other stores have also been using alternatives to plastic bags since they first opened.

“We’ve been using paper bags since opening (SOS) in 2006,” said Shelby Leonard-Watt, co-owner of SOS, Flavor and Providence in downtown Peterborough.

Any plastic use in the other businesses is being phased out, he says, and paper is more durable and has more utility since it can be reused, said Leonard-Watt. But it’s not the least expensive option.

“Plastic bags are cheaper to purchase, most paper bags are a minimum of a dollar for one and that’s a big expense for retailers to take on,” she said.

But he does say every small business should see what they can do for the environment, and make green and cost-effective choices.

“I think anything that improves our environmental footprint, anything that makes it smaller is beneficial,” she said, adding even though it may cost businesses more.

“At the same time, it is for the greater good,” she added.

SHARE: