Canadian grocery stores could significantly reduce their reliance on disposable plastic produce bags through relatively modest changes to store layouts, signage and reusable-bag availability, according to a University of Toronto research project that included a pilot at two Longo’s locations.
The U of T Trash Team estimates that an average grocery store in Toronto distributes approximately 2,000 plastic produce bags each day. Researchers say the cost becomes material across a large retail network, with one unnamed regional grocery company reporting annual spending of approximately $300,000 on the bags.
The project examined produce-bag use at 30 Toronto grocery stores representing 11 chains. Researchers also surveyed 50 customers and worked with Longo’s on an intervention at its Liberty Village and York Mills stores.
The findings suggest that many shoppers are willing to reduce their use of disposable bags, particularly when reusable alternatives are more visible and the reasons for the changes are clearly communicated.
The larger question is whether individual grocery chains are prepared to move first.
Researchers reported that grocery companies expressed interest in transitioning away from disposable produce bags but were reluctant to act without rules applying across the industry. Removing a familiar customer convenience could leave one retailer exposed to complaints while competitors continue providing the bags freely.
Thousands of Bags Distributed Daily
Plastic produce bags remain widely available in Canadian grocery stores, even as conventional plastic checkout bags have largely disappeared from retail environments.
They are typically found on rolls or in dispensers throughout produce departments, where customers use them for loose fruits and vegetables. Bags may also be taken for prepackaged goods or produce with a thick natural peel.
The U of T Trash Team observed customers and produce-bag placement across 30 Toronto stores during 2024. Based on those observations, researchers estimated that an average store distributes approximately 2,000 bags per day.
Environmental Defence, which publicized the findings on July 23, extrapolated the Toronto results to estimate that more than 2.7 million produce bags are distributed and discarded across Canada each day. The organization estimates that eliminating them could save the grocery industry almost $10 million annually, based on an assumed wholesale cost of approximately one cent per bag.
Those national totals are projections derived from the Toronto research and should not be read as a direct count of bag use across the country. The calculations nevertheless illustrate how a low-cost item can create a sizeable expense when supplied across hundreds of grocery stores and millions of shopping trips.
The study also heard from one regional grocery company that spends about $300,000 annually providing the bags. The retailer was not identified.
Customers Use Bags for Packaged and Durable Produce
Researchers found that disposable bags were frequently available near prepackaged produce or products with durable natural peels.
More than 30 per cent of surveyed customers reported using produce bags for goods that were already packaged or for fruits and vegetables such as bananas and onions, according to Environmental Defence.
Some of that use may be habitual, but the bags also serve practical purposes. They can contain dirt from potatoes and onions, keep loose products together, separate produce from meat or household goods, and prevent wet or delicate items from coming into direct contact with shopping carts and checkout belts.
Reducing produce-bag use therefore presents a different operational challenge from eliminating plastic checkout bags.
A customer can bring purchases home in a reusable shopping bag without making major changes inside the store. Produce bags are selected at several points throughout the shopping trip, often well before the customer reaches the checkout.
The research suggests that dispenser placement and product proximity can influence how often shoppers take them.
Longo’s Pilot Tests Changes Inside Two Stores
The project’s most direct retail component was a two-month pilot at Longo’s stores in Toronto’s Liberty Village and York Mills neighbourhoods.
The intervention did not begin with a complete removal of disposable produce bags. Researchers and the retailer tested a series of changes intended to make customers more conscious of their choices while making reusable alternatives easier to find.
Measures included larger educational posters, smaller messages near bag dispensers, more prominent placement of reusable produce bags, reusable-bag giveaways, and the removal or repositioning of some disposable-bag dispensers.
The approach allowed the stores to test whether customer behaviour could be influenced without abruptly withdrawing an established service.
Disposable-bag use declined during the pilot, although the results differed between the two stores. Researchers also reported substantial percentage increases in reusable produce-bag sales compared with the earlier control period.
Reusable-bag sales increased 538 per cent at Liberty Village and 260 per cent at York Mills, according to the U of T Trash Team policy brief.
Those percentages should be interpreted cautiously because the publicly available summary does not disclose the underlying unit-sales figures. A large percentage increase can result from a relatively small starting point.
The broader result remains relevant for grocery operators: customers responded when reusable options became more visible and disposable bags became less automatic to access.
Survey Suggests Shoppers Are Open to Change
Customer resistance may be less significant than some retailers expect, based on the limited survey conducted as part of the project.
Among the 50 customers surveyed, 94 per cent said they would be willing to stop using disposable produce bags, while 72 per cent said they would be willing to purchase reusable alternatives.
Researchers also found that some customers were unaware reusable produce bags were available.
The small sample does not provide a representative measure of sentiment across Canada or even across the broader Longo’s customer base. It does suggest that communication and product visibility could play an important role in any transition.
Retailers regularly face complaints when familiar free items are removed, particularly when customers view the change primarily as a cost-saving measure. Clear signage, affordable alternatives and gradual implementation could help explain the purpose of the transition before bags are eliminated or restricted.
The different results at the two Longo’s stores also indicate that performance may vary according to store layout, neighbourhood demographics, customer habits and execution.
Grocers Face a First-Mover Problem
The research points to a familiar competitive problem for Canadian grocery chains.
A retailer that independently removes disposable produce bags could reduce purchasing costs and plastic waste. It could also be accused of reducing service while nearby competitors continue supplying the bags without charge.
Environmental Defence said researchers found grocery companies were interested in moving away from plastic produce bags but unwilling to act without a policy requiring all chains to participate.
A common standard would reduce some of the competitive risk. Every major grocer would need to explain similar changes to customers, limiting the possibility that shoppers could switch chains because another retailer continued to provide free bags.
Operational questions would remain.
Grocery companies would need to determine which products genuinely require bags, which alternatives should be provided, and whether customers should pay for reusable or disposable options. Store fixtures, weighing procedures, food handling, employee training and customer communication could also be affected.
One approach may not work across every produce category. Durable items such as bananas, avocados and citrus fruit can often be purchased without a bag, while small, wet or loose items may require some form of container.
Produce Bags Remain Outside Federal Restrictions
Environmental Defence is calling on the federal government to expand Canada’s single-use plastics restrictions to include plastic produce bags.
The existing Single-use Plastics Prohibition Regulations cover six categories: checkout bags, cutlery, certain foodservice ware, ring carriers, stir sticks and straws. Produce bags are not among the regulated products.
Federal rules define checkout bags as bags designed to carry purchased goods from a business and typically supplied at the point of sale. Produce bags used within a store fall outside that category.
The distinction may be unfamiliar to consumers who have already adjusted to bringing reusable bags to grocery stores.
Environmental Defence argues that adding produce bags to the federal restrictions would create the consistent, industry-wide requirement that some grocery companies appear to want. No federal decision to regulate produce bags has been announced.
The organization is an environmental advocacy group, and its recommendation is a policy position arising from the research.
Alternatives Require Careful Evaluation
Removing conventional plastic bags does not settle the question of what should replace them.
Retailers could encourage customers to leave durable produce unpackaged, sell reusable mesh bags, provide paper bags or reserve disposable options for a narrower range of products. Containers brought from home may also work for some bulk items, depending on store procedures.
Each option carries different costs and environmental consequences.
Federal guidance for businesses transitioning away from regulated single-use plastics encourages waste prevention and reuse when alternatives are selected. It also notes that replacement products can carry environmental impacts of their own.
For grocery chains, the most practical approach may be to reduce unnecessary use before attempting to eliminate every bag.
The Longo’s pilot supports that possibility. It showed that signage, placement and customer prompts can affect behaviour while disposable bags remain available for shoppers who believe they need them.
Findings Come With Limitations
The research provides a useful look at an often-overlooked part of grocery-store operations, but its findings should be viewed within the scope of the project.
The observations were conducted at 30 stores in Toronto. The customer survey involved 50 people, and the intervention was limited to two Longo’s locations.
The national estimate of 2.7 million bags per day and the projected annual savings of nearly $10 million were extrapolated from the Toronto findings. The publicly available policy brief also does not contain the detailed statistical reporting typically found in a full peer-reviewed academic paper.
The research therefore does not establish how every Canadian shopper or grocery format would respond to the removal of produce bags.
It does show that bag use is influenced by store design and product placement, and that some customers will change their behaviour when alternatives are visible and the reason for the change is explained.
For grocers, reducing produce-bag use may offer a relatively modest opportunity to lower operating costs and respond to pressure around disposable packaging.
Whether companies pursue those changes voluntarily or wait for governments to create a common standard remains unresolved.
