Man Claims Supermarket Has No Plastic Bags for Sale; Supermarket Has Since Responded

Imagine buying a market of groceries, only to realise that there’s no plastic bags for you.

Don’t need to imagine lah just head to Don Don Donki—

A man in Choa Chu Kang experienced that, and no, it’s not at Don Don Donki; it’s at a U Stars Supermarket.

And no, it’s not because they’ve stopped selling plastic bags.

Man Claims Supermarket Has No Plastic Bags for Sale; Supermarket Has Since Responded

Shoppers at U Stars Supermarket in Choa Chu Kang faced an unexpected situation last Saturday night when staff refused to provide plastic bags, even for a fee.

A man who visited the supermarket around 11 PM on 26 October told Shin Min Daily News about the incident. After picking his daily necessities, he learned at the checkout counter that no plastic bags would be provided.

“Earlier that day, I saw two to three customers facing the same issue. Some shoppers left their items and walked away when denied bags,” he said.

Despite offering to pay for plastic bags, staff turned down his request, citing “new store rules”.

When questioned about the timing and lack of notices about this policy, staff members gave unclear responses before claiming it was implemented just a day before.

He then spotted plastic bags at the counter but staff refused to hand them out. He eventually packed his purchases in his personal bag.

“Customers without reusable bags need plastic ones. The store should let us buy them,” he said, adding that the supermarket should inform customers about such policy changes beforehand.

But it turns out that there might have been a miscommunication.

In response to Shin Min Daily News, U Stars Supermarket’s operations manager explained that their plastic bag supplier faced production issues, causing delivery delays.

“This has affected our plastic bag inventory, leading to shortages at some outlets,” the manager said, apologizing for any inconvenience caused to customers.

The Plastic Bag Charges That Work Like Magic

Since the implementation of the mandatory plastic bag charge in Singapore on 3 July 2023, there has been a significant reduction in the use of disposable carrier bags. Supermarket operators have reported a 70% to 80% decrease in the number of disposable bags provided to customers.

For instance, FairPrice issued approximately 142 million fewer disposable carrier bags in the second half of 2023 compared to the same period in 2022.