One year after Whole Foods Market (Nasdaq: WFMI) became the first U.S. supermarket to eliminate disposable plastic grocery bags at all of its store checkouts, the company said it has seen reusable bag use triple.
As a result, the company estimates 150 million plastic bags have been diverted from landfills since last Earth Day.
"At first we wondered if shoppers would just switch to paper but to our great surprise, people have been truly excited about using reusable bags," said A.C. Gallo, Co-president and Chief Operating Officer for Whole Foods Market. " Eliminating plastic bags was definitely the right move at the right time."
Whole Foods Market said it is currently seeking alternatives to plastic bags in its bulk, produce, bakery and seafood departments and is working with vendors to eliminate Styrofoam packaging in shipments.
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The United Kingdom started a campaign today encouraging the public to reuse plastic bags, noting that each shopper uses 13,000 bags in a lifetime.
A survey found that an average shopper uses more than 160 new carrier bags every year, with 9.9 billion new bags distributed in 2008 alone.
"We simply can’t continue using the billions of new plastic bags we do each year, it’s such a huge waste and a visible symbol of our throwaway society," said Environment Minister Jane Kennedy.
Read the Reuters report at the link below.
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