Local Supermarkets Get Graded on Reusable Bag Practices

A Long Island nonprofit group has released a report grading local supermarkets like Pathmark, Waldbaums, and King Kullen on their reusable bag practices and policies.

In a report released Thursday, Citizens Campaign for the Environment gave Pathmark and Waldbaums grades of B-plus but gave Trader Joe's, which has a Commack location, and King Kullen an F.

King Kullen, which sells reusable bags and provides plastic bag recycling bins but does not offer a credit on purchases when customers reuse shopping bags, responded to the report in a statement on Thursday.

"King Kullen encourages all customers to recycle their plastic bags by bringing them right back to the store and depositing them in the recycling bins," King Kullen Vice President Thomas Cullen said. "We also hope King Kullen shoppers will purchase the reusable bags we've made available at every store — but that is the customer's decision. We believe in offering a choice."

Target received a B grade on the Citizens Campaign report, while Giunta's Meat Farms received a C. Walmart, which sells the cheapest reusable bags in Commack at 50 cents a pop, scored a C-plus.

"Our focus is on how can we provide reusable bags to our customers at the lowest cost," Walmart spokesman Kory Lundberg said. "Just like any product at Walmart, our goal is to be the low cost leader."

The report assessed supermarkets on nine criteria, including availability and cost of reusable shopping bags, signage in stores, windows and parking lots, discounts for reusing bags, cashier training, and willingness to participate in the consumer study.

"Grocery stores have helped create the problem of disposable bags and now we need them to help solve this problem," said Adrienne Esposito, executive director of Citizens Campaign for the Environment. "We hope all stores use this report as an opportunity to implement policies that encourage consumers to make the switch to reusable bags."