In the growing trend of retailers banning single-use plastics, Sprouts is next in line to fully eliminate single-use plastic bags by the end of 2023. While already banning single-use plastic bags in 39% of their stores, with 132 locations in California alone, the next phase of the ban rollout will start with Nevada, Utah, Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia. By eliminating single-use plastic bags, Sprouts is positioned to remove an estimated 200 million of them from circulation annually. Sprouts has also eliminated paper bags at checkout, stating they’re generally not reused, aren’t frequently recycled and still have a high environmental impact in terms of raw materials and manufacturing. The main goal is to encourage Sprouts’ shoppers to bring their own reusable bags with them when shopping to eliminate environmental impact. Shoppers will be able purchase sturdier, reusable plastic bags at check out for $.10 each. These reusable plastic bags are made from 40% post-consumer recyclable materials and can be reused up to 125 times. Additionally, customers will still be able to recycle single-use plastic bags at every Sprouts location. In 2022, Sprouts customers recycled almost 1 million pounds of soft plastics between their nearly 380 locations across 23 states.
Other stores committed to eliminating single-use plastic bags include Kroger and Giant Eagle, Aldi US, and Wegmans, among others. Companies have found great marketing and sales opportunities by creating and selling their own branded reusable bags at checkout. Sprouts is ranked number 53 on The PG 100, Progressive Grocer’s 2022 list of top food and consumables retailers in North America. As stated on their website, they are “committed to our environment and operating our business in a way that reduces our carbon footprint, limits natural resource use and diverts waste from landfills.”
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