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Meijer aims to go ‘Beyond the Bag’ to reduce plastic waste

Supercenter retailer joins Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag

Russell Redman

December 21, 2020

3 Min Read
Meijer_supercenter-exterior_0.jpg
Meijer has joined the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag as a supporting partner.Meijer

Teaming up with other food and drug retailers, Meijer has joined the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag as a supporting partner to help cut down on plastic waste.

Launched over the summer, the coalition was founded to test options to the single-use plastic shopping bag now used by mass retailers nationwide. The consortium’s three-year Beyond the Bag Initiative calls on retailers to “think outside the box” to address the global waste issue of plastic shopping bags.

“Meijer operates under the philosophy that to be a good company, we must be a good neighbor,” Vik Srinivasan, senior vice president of properties and real estate at Meijer, said in a statement. “We are committed to lessening our impact on the environment and believe our participation in this initiative is an important step in keeping our communities clean for generations to come.”

Beyond the Bag seeks to find a single-use plastic bag replacement that’s functional, easy for customers to use and better for the environment, Meijer noted. The effort, kicked off by Closed Loop Partners’ Center for the Circular Economy, engages with stakeholders — including suppliers, materials recovery facilities, municipalities, advocacy groups and others — to promote viable market solutions that can be scaled and bring value to retailers and customers, the Grand Rapids, Mich.-based retailer said.

Related:Hy-Vee joins Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag

According to Erik Petrovskis, director of environmental compliance and sustainability at Meijer, the supercenter retailer already has made strides in reducing plastic and other other waste. This past January, Meijer opened its first small-format store, Woodward Corner Market, without single-use plastic bags. And since 2014, each Meijer store has placed collection bins inside its front-entrance vestibules for customers to deposit clean, dry plastic bags and films, including single-use, bread, dry cleaning, produce and water softener bags. This year, the company expects to recycle 6 million pounds of plastic bags, which are sent to its distribution centers to be remanufactured into decking. 

Last year, Meijer began adding a How2Recycle label on its own-brand packaging to help customers understand how to dispose of the materials. By 2022, the How2Recycle label will be on all True Goodness by Meijer packaging, the retailer said. Also in 2019, Meijer set a goal that its store-brand packaging will be made from 100% reusable, recyclable or compostable materials by 2025.

Meijer operates 256 supercenters and grocery stores in Michigan, Ohio, Indiana, Illinois, Kentucky and Wisconsin. 

Related:Retail coalition formed to find options to single-use plastic bags

“Lessening our impact on the environment through increased recycling efforts is an issue that is important to us and our customers, and one that we are working diligently to address,” Petrovskis added. “I look forward to reviewing the innovative solutions that will stem from this collaboration.”

CVS Health, Target and Walmart are the Consortium to Reinvent the Retail Bag’s founding partners, while The Kroger Co. serves as the group’s grocery sector lead partner. Walgreens participates as a supporting partner, and investment firm Closed Loop Partners serves as managing partner. Hy-Vee is a supporting partner, and Dick’s Sporting Goods takes part as sports and outdoor retailer sector lead partner.

“The scale of the challenge is vast, with single-use plastic bags used widely across industries, sectors and geographies. Addressing a systemic waste challenge requires bringing stakeholders together to solve for a shared challenge,” stated Kate Daly, managing director of the Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners. “Together, we are thinking outside the box and collectively reinventing the retail bag, and we encourage other retailers to join us.”

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About the Author

Russell Redman

Senior Editor
Supermarket News

Russell Redman has served as senior editor at Supermarket News since April 2018, his second tour with the publication. In his current role, he handles daily news coverage for the SN website and contributes news and features for the print magazine, as well as participates in special projects, podcasts and webinars and attends industry events. Russ joined SN from Racher Press Inc.’s Chain Drug Review and Mass Market Retailers magazines, where he served as desk/online editor for more than nine years, covering the food/drug/mass retail sector. 

Russell Redman’s more than 30 years of experience in journalism span a range of editorial manager, editor, reporter/writer and digital roles at a variety of publications and websites covering a breadth of industries, including retailing, pharmacy/health care, IT, digital home, financial technology, financial services, real estate/commercial property, pro audio/video and film. He started his career in 1989 as a local news reporter and editor, covering community news and politics in Long Island, N.Y. His background also includes an earlier stint at Supermarket News as center store editor and then financial editor in the mid-1990s. Russ holds a B.A. in journalism (minor in political science) from Hofstra University, where he also earned a certificate in digital/social media marketing in November 2016.

Russell Redman’s experience:

Supermarket News - Informa
Senior Editor 
April 2018 - present

Chain Drug Review/Mass Market Retailers - Racher Press
Desk/Online Editor 
Sept. 2008 - March 2018

CRN magazine - CMP Media
Managing Editor
May 2000 - June 2007

Bank Systems & Technology - Miller Freeman
Executive Editor/Managing Editor
Dec. 1996 - May 2000

Supermarket News - Fairchild Publications
Financial Editor/Associate Editor
April 1995 - Dec. 1996 

Shopping Centers Today Magazine - ICSC 
Desk Editor/Assistant Editor
Dec. 1992 - April 1995

Testa Communications
Assistant Editor/Contributing Editor (Music & Sound Retailer, Post, Producer, Sound & Communications and DJ Times magazines)
Jan. 1991 - Dec. 1992 

American Banker/Bond Buyer
Copy Editor
Oct. 1990 - Jan. 1991 

This Week newspaper - Chanry Communications
Reporter/Editor
May 1989 - July 1990

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