Sobeys to phase out plastic bags, but ‘Sobeys bag’ lives on in Atlantic Canada

ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Sobeys is preparing to phase out plastic grocery bags across the country this week, but for many Atlantic Canadians the “Sobeys bag” will live on in their kitchen cupboards.

The grocery chain announced last summer it would eliminate the plastic shopping bags by February, offering customers reusable totes or paper bags to carry their purchases out of the store.

The company has said the change will eliminate 225 million bags used annually at more than 250 stores across Canada.

But the chain’s plastic grocery bags have taken on their own cultural significance on the East Coast, where the term “Sobeys bag” has become synonymous with the generic term “plastic bag” used elsewhere.

The grocery empire grew from a family business founded in Stellarton, N.S., in the early 1900s.

On social media and radio shows in the region, residents are paying homage this week to the bags often repurposed to line leaky shoes or cart leftovers home from a family dinner.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Jan. 30, 2020.

The Canadian Press