WASHINGTON — Giant customers are no longer getting a nickel back on every reusable bag they bring to the store.
The grocery chain discontinued the nearly 20-year-old practice last Friday.
In a letter to customers that offers a free reusable bag, Gordon Reid, president of Giant, wrote that the company ended the practice.
“Approximately 20 years ago, we launched our reusable bag program and began offering our customers a 5-cent incentive every time they used a reusable bag when shopping in our stores. At the time, this was a very new idea and the program encouraged our customers to change their habits and adopt the use of reusable bags. We’ve continued this incentive program over these many years, but times have changed and the public is much more aware of environmental issues and our responsibility, as individuals, to reduce our environmental impact,” Reid wrote.
He said that Giant would continue to direct its attention “to invest in new programs that will contribute more to our environmental objectives.”
Giant stores are recycling cardboard, paper and plastic. They are reducing energy consumption through environmentally friendly designs and utilizing solar panels to reduce electricity costs at several stores, Reid said.
Giant will continue to recycle plastic bags you return to the store.
The move comes after Giant recently lowered prices on a number of its items.
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