Green Your Holidays
How does this work?

Published in

Plastic

Rate this post

1 Star2 Stars3 Stars4 Stars

Tagged as

plasticbags, recycle, reduce, trees

Join the discussion

Be the first to comment

Share this article

Published on June 13th, 2008

Plastic Bag Use Down By 92 Percent at IKEA

by Ashley Schiller

In March of 2007, IKEA began charging customers a nickel for each plastic bag and offering reusable bags for 59 cents. The goal was to reduce the use of plastic bags by 50 percent. The company largely exceeded their goal and reported last month a 92 percent drop in usage.

The success has inspired the company to “take another step forward” and beginning October 2008, stores will no longer offer paper or plastic bags. Reusable bags will be the only option.

Another part of the March 2007 initiative included all proceeds from plastic bag sales going to American Forests to support the planting of trees and restoring forests. IKEA has had a partnership with American Forests for more than 10 years. The company and store visitors have sponsored the planting of over 725,000 trees.

Still have plastic or paper bags sitting around your house? Use Earth 911’s recycling locator to find a drop-off near you.

Ashley Schiller

Ashley Schiller

Ashley Schiller is a freelance writer. She is currently finishing her bachelors in political science and journalism.

More articles by Ashley


Join the discussion



Recently Added to Plastic

  • Future of Bioplastics Rests on Improved Research & Design

    There is a “high interest” in bioplastics, according to John Kalkowski, editorial director at Packaging Digest, who observed numerous questions about their use at a recent conference on the innovative material. While its popularity has room to grow, Kalkowski said …

  • Nestle CSR Report Starts in Right Direction

    Henry Nestle founded the company that bears his name in 1866 with a single product: breakfast cereal. With an original mission to provide proper nutrition to children, the company has since expanded, becoming a worldwide conglomerate and household name.

    The company …

  • Brita Starts Filter Recycling Program

    Starting in January 2009, Brita will begin recycling its filters through a program with Preserve, a leading maker of 100 percent recycled goods.

    The filters will be recycled into items such as toothbrushes, cups and cutting boards through Preserve’s recycling …

Search in

Advertise with us