Stop Using Plastic Bags, Publix
Sierra Club Florida has created a campaign to ask Publix Supermarket to stop using single-use plastic bags at checkout. Our goal is to convince Publix to voluntarily stop 
distributing single-use plastic bags. We also want to encourage everyone to use reusable bags for shopping.
Why are we targeting Publix? It is the largest supermarket in Florida and is a leader and model to other grocers and retail operations. Through its work with the Florida Retail Federation, Publix has supported laws that prevent local communities from enacting plastic bans.
Each signature generates a petition to Todd Jones, Publix CEO. We are also collecting postcards at face-to-face events.
We believe that public pressure may motivate Publix and other retailers to change their position. If you are interested in getting more involved in this campaign, email Janet Stanko or contact your local Sierra Club group.
Why are single-use plastics bad?
- Plastic is a human-made material produced from oil and fracked natural gas.
- Americans use and dispose of over 100 billion single-use plastic bags annually.
- Publix Supermarket is the largest grocery chain in Florida, distributing 1.7 billion single-use plastic bags annually.
- On average, single-use plastic bags are used for 12 minutes and only around 5% are recycled.
- Plastic doesn’t biodegrade. Instead, it photodegrades, or breaks up into smaller pieces called microplastics that spread throughout the environment. Microplastics make up a significant amount of ocean plastic pollution.
- It is estimated that 8 million metric tons of plastic enter the ocean each year.
- Marine debris has impacted over 600 species of wildlife. This occurs through ingestion or entanglement, and plastic debris accounts for 92% of those encounters.
- Ocean Conservancy’s 2018 International Coastal Cleanup data showed that single-use plastic grocery bags were the #7 most commonly picked up piece of trash.