Some Chicopee businesses concerned over plastic bag ban

CHICOPEE, Mass. — Several businesses in Chicopee will soon have to adjust after the city council voted unanimously earlier this month to ban the use of single-use retail plastic bags next year.

City Councilor Sam Shumsky, who was one of several city leaders who initially proposed the law, said the items have been a big trash concern, particularly around Chicopee Marketplace for years.

"The way they were hanging from trees I call them 'trash ornaments,'" said Shumsky. "And the first look when you come in and you see the city is just — it's trash, it's litter and by proposing this ban and instituting it, I think it's going to help that and mitigate the situation."

Some Chicopee grocery stores like Arnold's Meats have concerns about getting rid of plastic bags.

Owner Larry Katz said while the ban may help keep the city clean, it will also create new challenges for small business owners.

"It just seems ridiculous you're gonna stop having plastic bags but everything else is OK?" Katz said. "And if they stop all plastic, what are meat companies supposed to wrap their products in? Or retail stores, what are they supposed to wrap their products in?"

Katz said the ban could also hurt customers with some businesses likely to start charging a fee for bags.

He said the quality of paper bags could also become a problem.

"Well paper bags will cost more than plastic," Katz said. "The other good thing about plastic is it holds more. If you put down a lot of product in a paper bag it will rip the bottom out, where with plastic it will not."

Shumsky said many residents, particularly ones who live near retail stores, have been complaining about trash constantly ending up on their property.

He said while some stores have made progress in recent months, the city needed to go a step further to better support the community.

"I have residents sending me pictures of trash bags full of plastic bags, cans, nips, and frankly, I think it's just not right for the taxpayers who live there to be burdened by this issue," Shumsky said.

The plastic bag ban will start on June 1 of next year.

The ban will only apply to retail businesses in Chicopee.