Giant Eagle to Stop Plastic Bag Use in Two Markets

Giant Eagle Inc., which is relaunching its 2020 commitment to be a leader in reducing single-use plastic grocery bags, will celebrate Earth Day next week by no longer providing single-use plastic bags at its Erie, Penn., and Cuyahoga County, Ohio, supermarkets it said in an April 5 statement.

On Earth Day (April 22), supermarkets throughout Cuyahoga County and Erie will stop the use of single-use plastic grocery bags and instead incentivize guests to use environmentally friendly reusable bags. Giant Eagle said it plans to roll out the initiative to its supermarkets across other regions as well in the coming months.

The company said the move is part of its larger strategic sustainability platform inclusive of achieving significant milestones related to waste, carbon emissions and sustainable products.

Giant Eagle said it recently completed the removal of single-use plastic bags from its 250-plus GetGo locations companywide, preventing 27 million plastic bags annually from landfills.

Looking to reward reusable bag use, Giant Eagle said it is launching a reusable bag sweepstakes, providing customers who shop with a reusable bag multiple opportunities every month to win $10,000.

All Giant Eagle supermarkets also make reusable bags available for purchase starting at 99 cents each. As an Earth Day celebration, Giant Eagle said it will give away more than 100,000 reusable bags for free at its Cuyahoga County and Erie locations.

Offering paper bags as an alternative, the grocer said Cuyahoga County and Erie Giant Eagle stores will charge a 10-cent fee per paper bag used, except for guests paying with forms of government-funded food purchase assistance (e.g., SNAP, WIC).

In connection with reducing waste and offering more sustainable products, Giant Eagle announced last year that it will invest $100 million in the next 10 years to reach specific sustainability milestones.

Giant Eagle Inc. operates more than 470 stores throughout western Pennsylvania, north central Ohio, northern West Virginia, Maryland and Indiana.