Give stores reprieve on the plastic bag ban

Attention, environmentally conscious consumers, those reusable shopping bags just received a clean bill of health.

Previously banned due to possible COVID-19 contamination, the latest guidance issued by the Baker administration for the state’s grocery stores lifted that prohibition.

That decision follows guidance from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which has since determined the coronavirus primarily spreads through person-toperson contact.

Public Health Commissioner Monica Bharel’s now-rescinded March 25 order on grocery and pharmacy operations had prohibited the use of reusable checkout bags, and banned grocery stores and pharmacies from charging for paper or plastic bags. It also allowed those stores to issue paper or plastic bags despite any municipal bans on single-use plastic bags.

Prior to that coronavirus-related plastic-bag directive, 139 of the commonwealth’s cities and towns had adopted bans on single-use plastic bags, according to MASSPIRG.

While good news for shoppers trying to stem the flow of plastic waste, this sudden decision leaves many state businesses, especially supermarkets, with a surplus of those bags.

That didn’t sit well with Newton-Needham Regional Chamber President Greg Reibman, who said it was “disrespectful to our merchants” to bring back plastic bag bans and fees without providing advance notice.

“Reinstating bags bans, effective immediately, doesn’t give business owners a chance to use up their stock of existing plastic bags or a chance to stock back up on paper bags if they need them,” Reibman wrote.

We can understand his frustration. Massachusetts has absorbed a one-two public-health, economic punch from this pandemic, and state officials must take into account all the consequences of any particular action.

We’d encourage plastic-bag ban communities to follow the lead of Mayor Marty Walsh, who plans to extend Boston’s exemption from the bag ordinance until Sept. 30, so stores can exhaust their inventories.