Kroger customers furious at new surcharge they have to pay this summer – see if you’ll pay more
A NEW charge could hit customers if a proposed order passes and shoppers are angry.
An ordinance in Athens, Ohio hopes to reduce single-use plastic bags in the city.
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It was proposed at a recent Athens City Council meeting on Monday by council member Alan Swank.
This is the latest of several ordinances regarding the city’s use of plastic since 2016.
If passed, no stores will be able to provide single-use plastic bags to customers after August 1.
They also won’t be able to charge for bags unless they are itemized on the customer receipt.
According to the rule, customers can bring their own bags to the store.
A fine for providing single-use plastic bags will not exceed $100 with a separate violation for each time the store fails to comply with the order.
Swank said the deadline was pushed back to August 1 so stores, such as Kroger, have time to change.
The deadline also coincides with the arrival of Ohio University students.
“It’s easier to transition during your downtime, when you only have two clients, than when you have 20,” Swank said.
Milena Miller of Athens ReThink Plastics said many companies are ready to make the switch.
Kroger has already banned single-use plastic bags, like a store in Virginia last year.
The grocery chain has announced plans to completely eliminate all plastic bags by 2025.
In 2018, the company announced plans to phase out single-use plastic bags in its 2,779 stores and successfully reduced plastic bags in all QFC stores in April 2019.
The company also donated $1 to The Nature Conservancy for every reusable bag sold in stores that month.
Kroger has partnered with other stores like Walmart and Target for the Beyond the Bag initiative, which challenges shoppers to explore reusable options and “reinvent” plastic bags.
The store’s attempt to be more environmentally friendly has been adopted by other stores like Wegmans and Walmart.
Wegmans said that in stores where he instituted a ban on plastic bags, paper bags are used for about 25% of transactions, with the rest of sales going through reusable or bagless bags.
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