Walmart, LCBO are the latest retailers to embrace single-use paper bags. Environmentalists are concerned

Following complaints about reusable Walmart blue bags piling up in homes, the retail giant is phasing out the fabric bags, switching to paper bags for both grocery delivery and in stores.

Steve Calarco, a Walmart delivery customer in Edmonton, says he has already collected hundreds of the bags, which he puts out for recycling. Still, Calarco suggests that switching to paper bags isn’t the best move for the environment.

“Probably 30 per cent to 40 per cent of the bags that I get have got some sort of rip in them, so they’re not going to be reusable,” he said. “That does absolutely nothing to reduce waste.”

In late 2022, the federal government rolled out a ban on certain single-use plastics, including shopping bags. The regulations are being contested in court, but still remain in effect.

The ban has led to a proliferation of reusable bags, sparking concerns about their cost (ranging from 33 cents to $3 each), and the fact that some shoppers are amassing more than they could ever reuse. 

Now, some major retailers, such as Ontario’s main liquor vendor, the LCBO, and Walmart Canada are turning to single-use paper bags. 

Last year, Loblaw also switched from reusable to paper bags for grocery delivery. Grocer Sobeys has provided paper bags in stores and for delivery for more than a year. 

Walmart says its paper bags are made with 96 per cent recycled materials. But several environmental experts told CBC News that, even with recycled content, they aren’t a sustainable solution.

“That paper still has to get mixed with hot water and other paper and pulverized again, all requiring large amounts of heat energy and chemicals to remove impurities,” said Tony Walker, a professor at Dalhousie University’s School for Resource and Environmental Studies in Halifax.

He added that the process produces “greenhouse gases along with other atmospheric contaminants.”

That said, Walker says paper bags are still a better alternative to plastic, because plastic waste takes longer to break down, and can contaminate the environment.

However, he maintains that reusables are the best option for the planet. 

“These corporations can do better by thinking of reuse items and moving away entirely from single-use anything.”

Not all paper gets recycled

The LCBO previously offered free paper bags, but it phased them out in 2023 as an environmental initiative.

However, they’ll soon return, on order from Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who recently fired off a protest letter to the Crown corporation.

In the absence of free paper bags, Ford said in the letter, cash-strapped customers who forget to bring reusable bags have to buy new ones, or get stuck “openly carrying alcohol in public.”

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He also stated that “paper bags are an easily recyclable alternative.” 

Environmental researcher Calvin Lakhan disagrees. He argues the lower-grade brown paper used in shopping bags frequently doesn’t get recycled. 

“Oftentimes, the fibre bonds are not strong enough to undergo the pulping process, so in most instances, this paper is actually sent to landfill,” said Lakhan, co-investigator of the “Waste Wiki” project at York University in Toronto. 

Every time paper material does get recycled, he said, the fibres grow weaker, making it less likely they can be recycled again. 

CBC News was not able to find data on how many paper bags collected for recycling get a second life. 

However, Environment Canada provided a sobering statistic: It estimates only 55 per cent of all paper waste is recycled into new materials. 

“We’re trying to … move towards a circular economy,” said Lakhan, referring to the practice of reusing products as much as possible to minimize waste.

“This movement towards paper, paper, paper is very problematic.”

Yukon bans paper bags

In 2022, Yukon introduced its own single-use plastic bag ban. The territory widened it in 2023 to include paper bags.

Natalia Baranova, an acting manager with Yukon’s Department of Environment, says, among other concerns, trucking in the bags from Edmonton and Vancouver took its toll on the environment. 

“It’s over 2,000 kilometres and that’s a big impact on the greenhouse gas emissions,” she said. “We’re really proud that we were able to make this environmental advancement.”

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Asked why the federal government didn’t also ban paper along with plastic bags, Environment Canada spokesperson Samantha Bayard responded by email that its regulations focus on harmful plastic pollutants that threaten wildlife and are difficult to recycle. 

But Bayard also noted that the government is trying to “help Canada transition to a circular economy.” Such an economy would presumably exclude single-use paper bags. 

Retailers respond

Back in Edmonton, Calarco suggests a better solution than paper bags would be for Walmart to deliver groceries in cardboard boxes. 

“Everything comes in these cardboard boxes, so there’s an abundance of them at the store,” he said. “Why not reuse it for their deliveries?”

Metro, a grocer in Ontario and Quebec, offers bagless deliveries in either reusable cardboard boxes or plastic bins. 

Walmart and Loblaw both told CBC News that they continue to explore and test more sustainable solutions. Earlier this year, Walmart adopted a recycling program for customers’ excess reusable bags. The retailer said the program remains in effect for now, but said it couldn’t comment on its fate once the bags are phased out. 

Sobeys didn’t respond to requests for comment. 

When asked about environmental concerns with paper bags, the Ontario government sent CBC News a copy of Premier Ford’s protest letter to the LCBO.