Earlier this week Kroger publicly announced they will no longer be providing single-use plastic bags in store locations within the city limits of Cincinnati, beginning June 1, 2021. Cincinnati City Council passed an ordinance in September 2020 limiting the use of single-use plastic bags at all brick and mortar food-service establishments. The ordinance was slated to begin January 1st of this year, but was postponed due to the pandemic.
The average plastic bag is used for 12 minutes, but can last for more than 500 years.
Kroger and Cincinnati are not alone, businesses and communities across the globe are taking steps to reduce plastic pollution. You don’t have to try hard, all you have to do is take a walk or drive in your community and you will see there is a plastic pollution problem, or more accurately, a plastic pollution crisis. The problem has existed from the inception of plastic. Plastic bags were intended to be disposable, but engineered to last forever. On average plastic bags are used for 12 minutes but can last for more than 500 years. These bags tumble across our cities and farms, clog our sewers, and are ingested by wildlife, both terrestrial and aquatic. Plastic does not biodegrade, it is broken down into small pieces through sunlight and wave action. These small pieces, referred to as microplastics, have filled our fresh waterways, lakes, and oceans- resulting in a plastic soup. Rochester Institute of Technology estimates there is 381 metric tons of plastic in Lake Erie.
22 million pounds of plastic enter the Great Lakes every year.
The Ohio Sea Grant, among others, are concerned with the consequences of microplastics in the Great Lakes as this contamination extends to our drinking water and local sportfish. We unknowingly ingest plastic when we eat fish and seafood, breathe plastics in through the air, and consume plastics found in our drinking water and even our beer.
Ditch the plastic bottle of water: there is twice as much plastic in your bottle than your tap!
As we ingest microplastics we expose ourselves to toxic chemicals. Plastics are made of fossil fuels, including oil and fracked gas. Additionally, thousands of chemicals are added to plastic to make it soft, hard, or more flexible. There is a long list of toxic chemicals used to manufacture plastics, some to avoid include: Bisphenol A (BPA), phthalates, dioxins, and polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs). While BPAs are eliminated from our body through sweat and urine, the remaining chemicals persist and accumulate in our fat, internal organs, and can also be found in breast milk. These ‘forever chemicals’ (PFAS) are very concerning. Through emerging research we are learning more about the harmful dangers of these chemicals, and wonder why government agencies are not protecting us from exposure?
Americans use 100 billion plastic bags each year, which require 12 million barrels of oil to produce.
Eliminating plastic bags is one very easy way to reduce plastic production. Certain plastics are necessary, for example, when used to produce medical devices. But single-use plastic bags are not vital for society. When Kroger, America’s largest supermarket chain who grossed $132.5 billion in 2020, announced the elimination of plastic bags, it showed concrete actions they were taking to fulfill their mission, Zero Hunger | Zero Waste, to help create communities free of hunger and waste. But when this action only extends to the community within the city limits of Cincinnati, it showed something very different. This is an action being legally forced through an ordinance passed by the City of Cincinnati. Kroger shouldn’t wait for a mandate to fulfill their Zero Hunger | Zero Waste mission. With 229 Kroger stores in Ohio, there are a lot more communities that could benefit from the elimination of plastic bags.
Every year, plastics add as much greenhouse gases to the atmosphere as 189 new coal plants. We know this number does not reflect the greenhouse gases solely emitted by Kroger. Kroger has the power to reduce 16% (total percentage of Ohio Kroger stores) of their demand for single-use plastic bags in the United States. That is huge! This would result in a significant reduction of waste and energy. But this will only happen if Kroger chooses to create policies that fulfill their mission of Zero Hunger | Zero Waste in Ohio, not just Cincinnati.
If you want to fight the plastic pollution problem, let Kroger know!
Tell Kroger you want plastic bags to be eliminated in your hometown: Explain how your community is facing the same struggles of litter contamination in your parks and playgrounds, your community values environmental and human health, and your community matters, just as much as Cincinnati. These benefits should not only be extended to Cincinnati.
Send a message on Twitter @Kroger or Facebook https://www.facebook.com/KrogerTalk to your local Kroger grocery store manager! Use your phone and call 1-800-576-4377
Maybe you prefer snail mail, write a letter:
The Kroger Co. Customer Relations 1014 Vine Street
Cincinnati, Ohio 45202-1100
Get involed by joining one of our many events covering the impacts of plastic pollution. Email Elissa Yoder Mann: elissa.yoder@sierraclub.org