HAMPTON ROADS – All 16 of Kroger’s Hampton Roads-area stores will give away reusable bags to the first 75 customers to enter stores after 9 a.m. this Monday, Earth Day.
The giveaway is connected to Kroger’s Zero Hunger, Zero Waste initiative, a national effort aimed at ending hunger and eliminating waste across the company by 2025.
Last year, Kroger announced plans to phase out single-use plastic bags and transition to reusable bags by 2025 in all stores. The phase-out began April 1 with Seattle-based QFC stores, the company’s first retail division to phase out plastic bags.
“We know single-use plastic bags carry a high environmental burden, and we want to be part of the solution,” said Allison McGee, corporate affairs manager for Kroger Mid-Atlantic.
McGee also said that the Earth Day giveaway is a way for customers to begin using reusable bags ahead of Kroger’s phase-out of plastic bags, the timing of which has not yet been determined for the Hampton Roads area.
Though only 75 customers will receive a free bag, reusable bags are available for purchase in-store for as little as 99 cents each.