NB Liquor delays plastic bag ban, seeks solution at home

NB Liquor's plan to eliminate plastic bags from its stores is being delayed, as the corporation is having difficulty finding cheap, reusable bags to sell to customers.

Nora Lacey, a spokeswoman with the liquor corporation, said unlike the reusable bags being sold by grocery stores, the liquor corporation needs ones with compartments so that bottles can be carried without them banging together.

'We're working with a couple of New Brunswick-based suppliers to actually create a prototype for the bag that we need for our customers.' Nora Lacey, NB Liquor spokeswoman

"We're looking for a pocketed bag, something that has a number of compartments so that customers who purchase more than one product can carry their product home and not have to worry about there being any damage to the products because they're banging against each other," Lacey said.

She said nothing like that is available in North America, sothe corporation is nowlooking to a New Brunswick company to develop a new kind of bag.

"We're working with a couple of New Brunswick-based suppliers to actually create a prototype for the bag that we need for our customers," Lacey said.

The liquor corporation announced last fall that it intended to replace plastic bags from its stores.

Lacey said once a company can come with the type of bag NB Liquor is looking for, it will take another two to three months before they're introduced in stores.

Until then, the traditional plastic bags will continue to be used.