Many places in the United States are phasing out single-use plastic shopping bags. Some stores like Kroger are replacing these bags with "recyclable" plastic bags in misguided attempts to be more green.
A Redditor posted a picture of their new Kroger bag: a thicker plastic bag with instructions written on it about how the bag can be reused and recycled.
"Kroger's "zero waste" initiative includes getting rid of paper bags and replacing them with these thicker plastic bags," the poster wrote above the picture.
Kroger does have a zero-waste initiative aimed to phase out single-use plastics by 2025, among other goals. While companies must work to reduce the amount of waste they create, not every decision is a good one.
The plastic bag featured in the Reddit post is one such misstep; they are marketed as recyclable and reusable, but these bags must be returned to Kroger to recycle, which not all consumers are willing or able to do.
Being mindful of plastic waste — for example, bringing reusable grocery and produce bags when you shop — is an important thing to do as a consumer, as plastic damages the environment in several ways, from filling up landfills to harming animals.
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There have been some promising developments in recent years to help combat plastic waste. Many states and cities have banned single-use plastic as well as plastic foam. Some initiatives, like this plastic bag from Kroger, are classic cases of greenwashing, while others, like textile recycling, have shown more promise.
Commenters on the Reddit post were a bit divided. One person said, "Most people won't even recycle at home. they aren't going to drop bags off at a store to recycle them."
Someone else posted, "If it's free and reusable and recyclable, I can't complain too much. I prefer paper, but this seems like not a terrible idea."
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