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QFC completes phaseout of single-use plastic bags

Kroger Co. chain first to do so under companywide effort

Russell Redman

March 22, 2019

2 Min Read
Supermarket News logo in a gray background | Supermarket News

The Kroger Co.’s QFC supermarket chain plans to stop offering single-use plastic bags at all of its stores starting April 1.

Bellevue, Wash.-based QFC said Friday that all of its locations will have displays encouraging customers to buy reusable bag. The displays will highlight the chain’s program to donate $1 to The Nature Conservancy, a global nonprofit committed to protecting the earth's lands and waters, for each reusable bag purchased in April, up to $10,000.

QFC said it also will continue to offer customers the ability to recycle plastic bags. The retailer has about 65 stores in Washington’s Puget Sound region and around Portland, Ore.

In August, The Kroger Co. announced a national plan to drop single-use plastic bags at all of its retail stores as part of its Zero Hunger/Zero Waste initiative to end hunger in the communities it serves and eliminate waste companywide. QFC committed to be Kroger's first grocery chain to phase out the plastic bags and began the process late last summer in the Seattle area.

"With Earth Day approaching, we realized this was the perfect opportunity to accelerate the removal of single-use plastic in our stores and take the next bold step in our Zero Hunger/Zero Waste journey," said QFC President Suzy Monford. "We listen closely to our customers and our communities, and we agree with their growing concerns about use-once, throw-it-away plastic bags. This is why we are leading the change and inviting our customers to join us as we help to create zero waste neighborhoods."

Related:Kroger to eliminate plastic bags by 2025

Overall, The Kroger Co. distributes 6 billion single-use bags per year. The Cincinnati-based retailer aims to eliminate single-use plastic bags across its nearly 2,800 stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia by 2025.

According to Kroger, an estimated 100 billion single-use plastic bags are discarded in the United States annually. Less than 5% of plastic bags are recycled each year, and single-use plastic bags are the fifth most common, single-use plastic found in the environment by magnitude, the company reported.

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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