(NEWS CENTER Maine) — Customers in certain Maine towns will now have to start paying five cents for paper bags when they shop at Hannaford.
The grocery store chain spokesman, Eric Blom, says the surcharge will affect Hannaford stores in Kennebunk, York, Brunswick, Saco and Belfast starting on October 8.
Those communities already have a ban on plastic bags, and Blom says the five-cent charge is an effort to encourage shoppers to use and remember reusable bags.
Hannaford has no plan to roll out the surcharge to all of its 181 locations, but Blom says the chain has been encouraging the use of reusable bags for many years.
Hannaford offers reusable bags for 50-cents and has a program that donates $1 from the sale of a $2.50 bag to local community programs.
