It’s In The Bag
They have been the bane of our existence since 1979. That’s when the single-use plastic bag was developed. In 1982, two large supermarket chains—Safeway and Kroger—began offering them to customers. And while not everyone was initially good with them—after all, before then, there was only a “paper or paper?” question—they quickly caught on.
Skip forward 40 years, and today the 10th of October 2022, one of those chains—Kroger—has started its phase-out of the plastic bags that blow about in the wind, and if you are in a rural area like me, get caught in barbed wire fences. The company had made this vow several years ago, and is now ready for rollout. One of the chain’s stores in Richmond Virginia will no longer offer plastic, instead offering customers a reusable plastic bag for 10 cents, as well as more durable plastic totes for 99 cents. The other local stores will follow shortly, and then expand from there.
And while it is but a small step toward reducing our use of single-use plastics, it marks major progress. Canada banned single-use plastics in certain settings earlier this year. And while some municipalities and states, like New York in 2020, banned them, Kroger’s move shows how the private sector can and should get on board with policies such as this before the government makes you do so.
I was in Saskatoon this summer, and stopped for an avocado toast and coffee before heading south to Regina. I quickly noticed the difference, because instead of a plastic spreading utensil, it was made of bamboo. I asked the clerk if there had been any customer pushback, and he said no.
Reusable plastic totes have been around a while too, but have been slow to catch on, if only because they require a change in our consumer behavior. It’s all about remembering to take them inside the store. And never mind that COVID dealt them a temporary setback when some locales banned them amid fears of accidental germ sharing.
But since I live in Texas, where there were no such bans, and because I did not wish to interact with humans at checkout, I seized the moment to make that change in my behavior. I had long kept a tote bag filled with other tote bags in the back of my van, but often forgot to take them in with me. Good intentions marred by bad memory, but not anymore.
To be honest, I seldom ever see others doing so at my local Walmart, but a guy can hope, right? Maybe the retail giant will see what Kroger is doing and make a similar change. As for me, it’s not about virtue signaling, because I don’t hold the bags over my head and proudly announce, “Ladies and Gentlemen, this is the way you should be bagging your groceries.” No, I just do it, because it is part of my routine.
And because I think it is the right thing to do.
As with all major changes and disruptions in our lives, we have to buy into it 100% before it becomes our new normal. I mean, unless the government steps in and requires it. Even in Texas, it could happen. Amarillo and Canyon are not Breckenridge, and certainly not populated by folks with even a fraction of the environmental concern you see in that Colorado ski town.
But when the change comes from a company and is not mandated, I’m betting it will be a lot easier to just get over it. In the Amarillo area, our shopping options are pretty much United—which is owned by Albertson’s—and Walmart. You can bet that the other big chains are watching closely. And, as for United, they now offer a 5-cent discount at checkout if you bring a reusable bag. Target gives you 10 cents.
That raises another question: Would rewarding customers for bringing their reusable bags effect the change that Kroger wants to see? I doubt it, at least not as the only policy. Kroger wants to eliminate single-use plastic, not reward people. I’ll be honest and say that nickels and dimes do not motivate me, and I bet a lot of other people would feel the same way. Kroger would wind up still having to provide single-use plastic bags. Maybe a combination program could work, though.
In the end, bravo, Kroger! Now to get Publix, Albertson’s, Safeway, and the other big regionals on board. Then maybe Walmart will have so much peer pressure that it has to change as well. Because I would much rather this kind of thing happen at the corporate grassroots than have it be foisted upon us by mandate like in Canada or New York.
Dr “Toot And Tote This“ Gerlich
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