Whole Foods Market Inc. announced that it will gradually phase out the use of plastic grocery bags in its 270 stores with the goal of no longer using them by April 22, which is Earth Day.
The Austin, Texas-based grocery chain said it will encourage shoppers to bring their own reusable bags and will offer 100 percent recycled paper grocery bags when needed.
"More and more cities and countries are beginning to place serious restrictions on single-use plastic shopping bags since they don't break down in our landfills, can harm nature by clogging waterways and endangering wildlife, and litter our roadsides," A.C. Gallo, co-president and chief operating officer for Whole Foods Market, said in a statement.
(from:http://www.bizjournals.com/baltimore/stories/2008/01/21/daily10.html)
This is great start to ridding the planet of plastic bags. I hope it gets a LOT of notice and that other grocery chains follow their lead as customers gain more awareness.
I don't know if anyone here has ever seen a mass accumulation of hundreds of thousands of these bags in the environment, but I sure have. Back in the early 80s, I lived in Taiwan. When the harvest moon festival came around, friends and I climbed to the peak of a mountain in the pre-dawn with several thousand Taiwanese to see the sun rise above the cloud level. This was a beautiful and inspiring sight - the sun slowly tingeing the clouds farthest away with the faintest gold, then a rushing of more intense golds and reds as it rose ever higher in the sky. We lingered to bask in glory. But as the day warmed, the cloud cover burned off, revealing a scene that broke my heart - thousands upon untold thousands of plastic bags had built up in the valley below. They clogged a small river, hung from the valley sides and caught in the trees. The view was eerie and dead looking. No birds welcomed the morning.
I live for the day when we no longer treat our environment like a giant waste recepticle. And I am inspired by the folks at Whole Foods and everyone on this challenge for committing to a greener world.
Jennifer - Your Guide to Green Blogger
