An official website of the Cuyahoga County government. Here’s how you know
Sustainable Stores
The Department of Sustainability, with support from the Department of Consumer Affairs and Cuyahoga County Solid Waste District, created the Sustainable Stores Program to:
- Support retailers’ efforts to eliminate plastic checkout bags from their operations
- Educate consumers about retailers that are taking this important step to reduce plastic waste.
Retailers large and small are eliminating plastic checkout bags.
Click on the map above to locate them.
Add a Store to the Map
Tell us about a retailer that has eliminated plastic checkout bags from their store.
Resources for Retail Stores
Get Your Communications Toolkit
Access Bring Your Own Bags templates, social media graphics, and the Retailer Help Guide.Host an in-store event
Request County staff to share BYOBags information with customers to reduce the demand for single-use checkout bags of all types.Request Signage
While supplies last, request free BYOBags signage for storefront windows and checkouts.
2024 Sustainable Stores Grant for Retail Communities
Municipalities, chambers of commerce, and non-profits were invited to apply for up to $8,000 to eliminate the use of plastic checkout bags in their communities. Seven organizations were awarded grants to work with a minimum of 21 retailers/food pantries to eliminate plastic checkout bags. These organizations are working with their designated non-profits, retailers, and library branches to invite customers to bring their own bags when they visit. The grantees include:
- Burton, Bell, Carr Development
- City of University Heights
- Cleveland Public Library
- Cleveland Roots
- East Mt. Zion Baptist Church
- Hispanic Business Center / CentroVilla25
- One South Euclid
2023 Sustainable Stores Grant for Retailers
The County provided grant reimbursement for 12 retailers who completed their Sustainable Stores project to support the elimination of plastic checkout bags from their store operations. As a result of the work of these retailers, 14,250 plastic bags are being eliminated from the County each week. The retailers are located in 11 municipalities across the county. Nearly half of the stores are located in Equity Zones. Projects ranged from providing free or low-cost reusable bags to customers. to educating customers and changing store checkout areas to better accommodate packing reusable bags.