Back to Plastic Update: Giant Eagle will resume using recyclable plastic film bags at all its Erie County, PA, locations. With shoppers struggling to comply with unrealistic bag policies, we applaud this commonsense move. Read more here:

Plastic bags are back at all four Giant Eagle stores in Erie County.

The bags, which were eliminated as an option to mark Earth Day in April of 2022, were returned to Erie-area stores in March, said Jannah Drexler, spokeswoman for the Pittsburgh-based chain of more than 200 grocery stores.

The store’s bag policy has been a moving target — one that varied from one store or one region to the next. The Meadville-area store in Vernon Township, for instance, never eliminated single-use plastic bags.

“We have been out there trying to figure out what the best fit is,” Drexler said. “Throughout the process we have been getting a lot of helpful and sometimes constructive feedback on what is working and what isn’t working.”

She said that feedback led Giant Eagle to resume the use of single-use plastic bags at its Erie County stores.

Different markets have different policies

It’s not clear that this move reflects the company’s broader direction.

“There are some markets where we currently do not offer single-use plastics,” Drexler said, explaining, for instance, that the city of Pittsburgh doesn’t allow those bags.

“If there is any local ordinance in play, we abide by that,” she said.

Drexler said Giant Eagle was able to identify a supplier that produces bags made from 75% recycled material.

The grocery chain offers recycling bins that allows customers to return used bags. Those bags are recycled to make composite deck boards that replace wooden ones, Drexler said.

Back in 2022, Giant Eagle touted the environmental benefits of the ban on bags.

“Single-use plastic bags are one of the most visible waste products,” a company spokesman said at the time.

Customer comments lead to new decision

The decision to roll back that decision was driven by customer feedback, Drexler said.

Not everyone is happy with the move.

Erie Benedictine Sister Pat Lupo, environmental director at the Inner-City Neighborhood Art House, said she shops at Giant Eagle and was quick to notice the change.

“It’s a crime and I told them that,” she said. “I couldn’t believe it.”

Lupo said she was told that some customers had trouble remembering to bring reusable bags when they shopped.

Lupo, who keeps a stack of reusable bags in her car, doesn’t buy it.

“We can’t succumb to people’s deficiencies or just the fact that they can’t remember to bring a bag,” she said.