Kroger Discontinues Bag Sense Program

As of January 2011, Kroger grocery stores have discontinued the Bag Sense rebate program. Customers who shop using their own reusable bags will no longer receive a 3 cent credit for each plastic bag not used. Previously the Bag Sense program offered a rebate for customers who reused the plastic bags they received during prior visits. The program also encouraged customers to recycle plastic bags using in store receptacles.

The benefit to the consumer was the small financial incentive. The environment reaped a benefit, as well. Each time a Kroger customer chose not to use a plastic bag, it meant one less plastic bag causing potential harm to the environment. Oddly enough the original Kroger Bag Sense program was initiated to promote the use of plastic bags when paper bag prices increased.

Kroger continues to sell inexpensive reusable bags for those customers who do not have their own bags and still want to cut down on plastic use. Some of Kroger's reusable bags were designed by participants in Kroger sponsored contests who won awards for their efforts.

So What's Wrong With Plastic?

Plastic seemed like a good idea idea until environmental activists figured out it was a problem. By then it was already being used for soft drink bottles, disposable diapers, food containers and many other products, including grocery bags. Plastic is convenient and economical so it's often used once, then pitched into the garbage.

Plastic ends up in landfills where it's destined to remain for hundreds, perhaps thousands of years. It's in our oceans and dangling from our trees. Animals die from ingesting our plastic castoffs.

Just like toxic chemicals, plastic is another form of pollution. Unless something is done, the problem will only get worse. Plastic bag rebates provide a small incentive to customers to reduce their plastic use. Kroger's 3 cents per bag offering was like a tiny coupon. It wasn't much, but it added up.

Cents do add up

Three cents doesn't seem like much, but pennies can add up to big dollars. The D. C. Bag Law is one example of what pennies can do. The District of Columbia Bag Law went into effect in January 2010. It requires all retail outlets to charge a 5 cent fee for each plastic or paper bag given to a customer. If retailers offer customers a bag rebate, they get to keep some of the money collected.

The public's response to the tiny D. C. fee was a 50% reduction in bag usage, a significant reduction in plastic waste and an estimated $1,528,195.64 collected in 5 cent bag fees during the first quarter of the program.

Kroger's Response to an Inquiry

On January 24, 2011 a Kroger customer relations representative sent an email In response to an inquiry about the Bag Sense program. Here's the text of the email broken down into individual sentences for easier reading:

"The promotion originally began some years ago to promote the introduction and usage of plastic bags and the reuse of paper bags following an increase in paper costs.

The program was modified a couple of years ago to only 3 cents off per bag and it was supposed to come to an end as all promotions run their course as one that was successful.

It was with the reintroduction of reusable bags and the focus on less plastic waste that the store began the recycling of plastic bags by providing the barrels and encouraging customers to purchase reusable bags.

Customers are encouraged to take the responsibility upon themselves as stewards of our earth to remember to use reusable bags.

However, since we are creatures of habit...and forgetfulness, Kroger still offers plastic and paper bags for those that require them.

The cents off on this program was not likely to mobilize customers to bring their bags and use them or change customer behavior to modify their use of plastic.

It was a small incentive in a time that many groceries changed to begin offering the reusable bags to their environmentally conscious customers and encouraged use with contests.

This change will allow Kroger to reinvest the savings into lower prices for all customers."

Could Kroger be right ?

Could it be the Kroger bag rebate was providing an incentive to those customers who were already trying to be "stewards of the earth." Maybe 3 cents wasn't enough encouragement to get other customers to change their behavior.

The D. C. 5 cents fee isn't much more than Kroger's 3 cents, but the D. C. Bag Law uses a different approach. Their bag fee is like a tax or a surcharge. That could be why it's working so well. Customers who don't want to pay the extra 5 cents per bag chose to do without them. The reduction in plastic use is merely a side benefit of their refusal to pay the extra costs.

Source:
EPA Greenversations Blog:
http://blog.epa.gov/blog/2010/12/16/changing-behaviors/

Google Books online: Green at Work

Kroger customer service response