Media contact:  
Devyn Giannetti: (216) 225-9813; dgiannetti@cuyahogacounty.us

CUYAHOGA COUNTY, OH – The Cuyahoga County Departments of Consumer Affairs and Sustainability today announced that 31 locally owned stores will receive funding as part of the County’s Sustainable Store Grant program.

“I want to say congratulations to our local stores who are receiving grant funds to help them transition away from plastic bags,” said County Executive Chris Ronayne. “There’s a real impact to this program—these grants are expected to help eliminate a combined 2 million plastic checkout bags each year. This is a great step in the right direction as we work together to reduce plastic litter and protect our environment.”

The $130,000 in grants, which are being administered by the Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District, were designed to help locally owned stores comply with the County’s Disposable Bag Ban. In all, 56 stores applied for grants of up to $5,000 apiece. Grants will fund projects ranging from rewarding customers who bring reusable bags when they shop to changing store checkout areas to better accommodate reusable bags.

The 31 winning stores are located in 17 municipalities across the county, and just under half are in Equity Zones.

“These grants were created to help our locally owned stores make the much-needed change away from throwaway checkout bags,” said District 11 County Councilwoman Sunny Simon. “We were thrilled so many smaller stores wanted to take this important first step in creating a sustainable Cuyahoga County."

The grants are Phase 1 of a larger Sustainable Stores Program, which will include programs to promote the use of reusable bags and a map of stores that have removed plastic checkout bags from their operations.

View the full list of stores receiving a Sustainable Stores grant. Learn more about the Sustainable Stores Program at cuyahogacounty.us/byobags.

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