While Kroger Co. is trying to spread the message of sustainability, they aren't doing anything to combat the current plastic crisis we're in. I'm demanding Kroger and all affiliate brands ditch plastic bags in 2021 and switch to BYOB (bring your own bag) and paper bags only. 

Plastic bags create a plethora of issues including an astronomical amount of greenhouse gas emissions and deaths of wildlife. In order for any plastic to be produced, crude oils have to be collected and burned which release greenhouse gases that cause Climate Change and emit toxins into the air causing health problems in humans. Additionally, wildlife confuse flimsy plastic bags as food and end up starving to death. Furthermore, recent studies have shown that plastic leaches toxins into our food and the average American ingests one credit card's worth of plastic per week. This can cause hormone disruption and possibly chronic disease. 

Many believe that recycling is a solution to combat the plastic problem, however recycling flimsy plastics is actually part of the problem, not the solution. First, plastic can only be downcycled unlike aluminum, paper, and glass. This means that the plastic in a plastic bag must be mixed with other plastics which produces more greenhouse gases and decreases the likelihood of being able to be recycled again. Shelbizleee on YouTube has an excellent video titled "Why You Should Quit Recycling" that goes more in depth on this topic. Furthermore, less than 9% of plastic ever produced has been recycled and the plastic that is recycled is more expensive to use than virgin plastic. Even when these plastic grocery bags are reused, they generally end up in a landfill which causes even more problems. 

Grocery chains like Aldi, Trader Joe's, and Costco are much smaller than Kroger Co. and still don't use plastic grocery bags. If chains with fewer resources and less money provide plastic free grocery bags, a corporation the size of Kroger Co. can as well. Rodney McMullen, the CEO of Kroger, needs to demand change within his company before its too late!