No More Plastic Bags At Grocery Strores

RALEIGH, N.C. - The bag wars have begun.

Disposable plastic bags, which are made of petroleum, are under siege these days. Americans use 100 billion plastic bags a year and only about 1 percent are recycled, according to the Worldwatch Institute, an independent research organization that focuses on environmental issues.

And that, as Earth Day is celebrated Tuesday, is cause for concern.

Some states and cities have considered banning or taxing disposable plastic bags. Several grocery store chains have cut their use.

But are the bags that bad?

The American Chemistry Council, a trade association that represents chemical manufacturers, has opposed bans on plastic bags and said they have their benefits. The council said one truck can carry the same number of plastic bags as it takes seven trucks hauling bulkier paper bags.

And then there is the issue of trees. Plastic bags aren't made of trees, and when they're recycled, they save more trees.

The Trex Company, a Winchester, Va., manufacturer, makes building materials such as composite lumber for decking from plastic bags and reclaimed wood.

Among their suppliers of plastic is Harris-Teeter, which collects about 1.9 million pounds of plastic a year, said Jennifer Panetta, director of communications for the Charlotte, N.C.-based grocery store chain, with stores in eight states.

"We feel it's the consumers' choice," Panetta said. "If they stop using plastic bags, we would not carry them."

Still, some cities have banned their use.

Last March, San Francisco became the first U.S. city to bar large supermarkets from handing out disposable plastic bags. China has banned grocery stores and shops from handing them out after June 1.

The natural foods supermarket Whole Foods plans to stop handing them out at its 270 stores as of Tuesday. That means roughly 100 million plastic bags will be kept out of the environment by the end of 2008, the company says.

"It's really a part of our core values as a company, caring for our communities and our environment," said Darrah Horgan, a spokesperson for Whole Foods. "We're really encouraging people to re-use and bring in their own bags if possible."

Kroger collects plastic bags, dry-cleaning bags, and other plastic shrink wrap in bins near the entrance to stores. It sells reusable bags for 99 cents.

"One reusable bag has the potential to eliminate 1,000 plastic bags over the course of the reusable bag's life time," said Meghan Glynn, spokeswoman for the Kroger Company.

McClatchy-Tribune, April 22, 2008