THUNDER BAY – The choice of paper or plastic is about to be a thing of the past at Safeway stores in Thunder Bay.
The grocery store’s parent company, Sobeys Inc., on Wednesday announced it plans to eliminate plastic bags at all of its 255 Sobeys locations by the end of January 2020. Other stores, including Safeway, FreshCo and Foodland, will follow suit shortly afterward.
The Stellarton, N.S.-based grocery giant intends to replace plastic bags with paper and also plans to encourage the use of reusable bags.
“So many of our customers and our employees have told us loud and clear -- they want us to use less plastic -- and we agree with them,” said Michael Medline, President and CEO, Empire, in a release issued on Sobeys’ corporate website.
“This is a first step, and we plan to make meaningful progress every year to take plastic out of our stores and our products. We decided to act now instead of taking years to study and only make long-term commitments. We’re taking action now, making a tangible difference today and into the future. This is a significant first step, but it’s only a first step. We need to go further, and we will.”
Nationwide, the move is expected to take 225 million plastic bags out of circulation at Sobeys stores alone.
The company also plans to reduce plastic packaging, where possible.
