Disposable Bag Use Down 33 Percent At Supermarkets
If you make a point of bringing your own cloth bags with you when you head to the grocery store, you're part of a growing trend in the state. The Massachusetts Department of Environmental Protection and the Massachusetts Food Association say a voluntary initiative has reduced the use of disposable paper and plastic shopping bags by a third at participating stores since 2007.
Twelve supermarket chains with 384 stores, representing more than two-thirds of the industry in the state, have been tracking their use of disposable bags. They report that they're using 33 percent fewer bags than they were four years ago.
The initiative had established a goal of making that one-third reduction by 2013. The DEP says that, despite the quicker-than-anticipated success, the effort will continue.
Supermarkets helped achieve the change through such moves as training staff to pack groceries in fewer bags, offering reusable bags for sale and providing incentives for the use of reusable bags.
Participating grocery chains include Big Y Supermarkets, Crosby's, DeMoulas Market Basket, Donelan's, Foodmaster, Hannaford Bros., Price Chopper, PriceRite, Roche Bros., Shaw's Supermarkets, The Stop & Shop Supermarket Co., and Trucchi's.
Read more
WBJ Web Partners
Most Recent
Most Recent
0 Comments