loblaws, sobeys put a wrap on plastic bags

Limit edand Sobeys, the two largest food chains in Canada, is restricting the use of plastic shopping bags.
Loblaww said on Thursday that as of next April, it will no longer provide free packages at corporate locations across the country and at the checkout counters of stores participating in the franchise.
Plastic bags can only be provided on request, 5 cents per bag.
In response to the city\'s proposed waste reduction regulations, it will also charge 5 cents per bag, but only in the Toronto area, Sobeys said.
The company said the project will be implemented by June 1, which is expected to be the first day of waste transfer charges in Toronto.
\"This important initiative will inspire and help Canadians to embrace reusable bag practices more fully,\" said loblaww executive chairman William Weston, Jr . \"said.
\"As we continue to acknowledge and respond to the Canadian desire to support the environment initiative, this represents the natural development of the next step.
Weston said in an interview: \"From now until April, we are preparing [the program]
The first step will be launched on January. 12 in Toronto.
A pilot project involving five outlets indicates that providing a variety of affordable reusable bag options and the nominal cost of collecting plastic bags is the main driver of changing consumer behavior, loblaww said
The company says stores that charge bags cost nearly 55 bags per $1,000 less than stores that supply bags free of charge.
\"Customers are quite satisfied with reusable bags,\" Weston said . \".
\"But not without occasional complaints and occasional frustration.
\"One of the most tangled things about customers is forgetting their reusable bags,\" he said.
\"Part of this project will be to learn how to best remind customers to bring their luggage,\" Weston said.
Sainsbury, a British grocery chain, has a program \"they will text you before you go to the grocery store to remind you to bring your bags,\" he said . \".
Gerald Bartz, President and CEO of the World Wildlife Fund, welcomed Lough\'s move to stop offering free plastic bags.
\"Loblaww has tremendous ability to change,\" he said . \"
\"In a very large supply chain, loblaww is an anchor.
So it\'s very important if they can play their part in this and influence their customers and suppliers.
\"Obviously if you price something, then people will use it less,\" Butts said in an interview . \".
We want to see people using less plastic bags.
There is a clear environmental benefit in this regard.
Loblaww said it will continue to encourage consumers to use alternatives to plastic bags and will strengthen the sales of reusable plastic bags.
It has provided reusable packages at the checkout counter for 99 cents and calculated loyalty when used.
Loblaww said that most of the income from selling plastic bags will be used to cover the cost of the plastic bags reduction plan.
In addition, \"We will invest some money in lower food prices. . . [and]
\"In our sustainable development projects and some environmental charities,\" Weston said . \".
Sobeys sells reusable bags in their stores and plans to use the money sold in bags for environmental and sustainability programs.
The reusable package for loblaww is about 100
Recycled Plastics made in China mainly come from recycled bottles.
On Thursday\'s TSX, Loblaw shares closed up 14 cents to $31.
14, and shares of Empire Corporation, parent company of sobeysLtd.
The close rose 78 cents, or more than 1.
Five cents, $45. 67.
The Ontario Liquor Control Board also stopped using plastic shopping bags and instead offered paper bags to shoppers.
In last October, furniture retailer IKEA Canada (IKEA Canada) began charging plastic bags 5 cents to donate proceeds to Canadian tree companies to help plant trees across the country.