Kroger, parent of Fry’s Food and Drug, eliminating plastic grocery bags
Aug 23, 2018, 9:21 AM | Updated: 1:20 pm
PHOENIX — The parent company of Arizona’s Fry’s Food and Drug grocery stores announced Thursday it would phase out single-use plastic bags.
Cincinnati-based Kroger said it would transition to reusable bags at all its stores by 2025.
Customers will be able to buy reusable bags at its stores for $1 to $2 a piece.
While brown paper bags will also be available for free, Kroger says that its goal is to fully transition to reusable bags.
The move is part of the company’s “Zero Hunger | Zero Waste” program.
“It’s a bold move that will better protect our planet for future generations,” Rodney McMullen, Kroger’s chairman and CEO, said in a news release.
According to the release, less than 5 percent of plastic bags are recycled in the United States and an estimated 100 billion of them are thrown away each year.
News: Kroger to Phase Out Single-Use Plastic Bags by 2025
Read more here: https://t.co/q2IXmh65FN pic.twitter.com/AmpRJcEzd5
— Kroger News (@KrogerNews) August 23, 2018
The company operates more than 2,700 stores nationally under more than a dozen brands, including Fry’s, Ralph’s, Food 4 Less and Smith’s Food and Drug.
Seattle-based QFC will be the first division to phase out plastic bags, with the transition expected to be completed in 2019.
No time frame was provided about when other store brands would make the change.
There has been a broader shift underway at major U.S. corporations to reduce waste.
Disney, Starbucks, Marriott and McDonald’s are getting rid of plastic straws.
McDonald’s said this year that it will use only recycled or other environmentally friendly materials for its soda cups, Happy Meal boxes and other packaging by 2025.
Dunkin’ Donuts is phasing out polystyrene foam cups by 2020, and Ikea plans to eliminate single-use plastic products from its shelves by 2020.
Whole Foods stopped using single-use plastic bags in 2008.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.
