Growing demand from consumers has Thrifty Foods re-thinking its two-year-old decision to eliminate the plastic bag and serve its customers exclusively with cloth and paper sacks.
The Coquitlam location of the grocery chain is part of a three-store pilot study that is looking at the feasibility of bringing back the plastic bag. Jason Boudewyn, the company's director of retail operations, said while Thrifty Foods has worked to promote environmentally friendly cloth bags, a segment of its shoppers still wants to bring groceries home in plastic.
"We continue to use the reusable bags and it is without a doubt the best alternative out there," he said. "But sometimes, people forget them. It becomes inconvenient and we are trying to offer our consumers a choice."
For those without cloth sacks, Thrifty Foods had been using paper bags. But Boudewyn said in the rainy Lower Mainland climate, the bags often fall apart, particularly for people walking to and from the store.
The company is still committed to promoting cloth bags, he said, and more than 800,000 have been ordered and will be given out at stores across the province.
When cloth bags were first introduced, Boudewyn said, the company noticed a slight decrease in the number of paper bags it used. But those gains were not sustained and last year, more than 11 million paper bags went out.
"We are not seeing the reduction in usage," he said. "We are doing everything we can to remind our customers that re-useable bags are the priority but we are continuing to hear customers request plastic bags over paper."
Since the launch of the pilot study, Boudewyn said a great deal of debate has occurred in the media and online, and the company has received numerous emails and phone calls on the issue. All of the comments are being considered for the pilot study and a decision is expected before the end of October.
"There are people that really want to see this option and we get others that say it is not a good decision," he said. "It has been a completely mixed bag."
gmckenna@tricitynews.com
