Earth Day finds retailers taking on plastic bags

Retailers were rolling out deals to celebrate Earth Day on Monday. 

San Antonio, Texas-based H-E-B gave away up to 265,000 free reusable bags to customers across Texas. On April 22, customers who visited any H-E-B, Central Market, Joe V’s Smart Shop, and Mi Tienda in Texas were eligible to receive a complimentary Earth Day bag. Since 2008, H-E-B has given out more than three million reusable bags in celebration of Earth Day.

And SpartanNash took recycled plastic grocery bags a step further — partnering with a home services and decking company to use bags from its stores to create five accessible home ramps for local veterans with disabilities in honor of Earth Day. Each ramp requires over 157,000 recycled bags.

The ramp project came out of a partnership with the food distributor and two other companies: home repair company Home Repair Services and eco-friendly decking company Trex. The ramp project recycles plastics not typically accepted in standard recycling programs to create low-maintenance and durable composite decking projected to last years longer than traditional wood.

Plastic bag recycling bins are available year-round at SpartanNash-operated retail stores. According to the Byron Center, Mich.-based distributor, since the program started in 2023, over 1,000 pounds of plastic bags have been recycled.