Fred Meyer stores in Alaska and other stores under parent company Kroger’s umbrella will phase out single-use plastic bags over the next few years.
The company announced this week that it would transition to having all reusable bags in its stores by 2025.
The move comes as voters and local governments have instituted plastic bag bans or taxes across the country and in Alaska. Wasilla has banned plastic bags, Anchorage is still considering the issue.
Fred Meyer spokesperson Jeffery Temple says eliminating single-use plastic bags won’t save the company money — they’re cheaper than the paper bags they’ll offer during the transition. He says it’s part of a company-wide initiative to reduce waste.
Temple says it’s also not simply a reaction to local bag bans.
“We recognize that certain municipalities are electing to go toward a plastic bag ban, and we certainly honor that in the communities we serve,” Temple said. “But really this is an elective phase out that we’re going to move forward with regardless of those kinds of decisions, just because we want to be part of the solution and not part of the problem.”
Fred Meyer has 11 stores in Alaska.
Casey Grove is the host of Alaska News Nightly and a general assignment reporter at Alaska Public Media with an emphasis on crime and courts. Reach him at cgrove@alaskapublic.org.
