Good news! People power is making a difference on plastic pollution! Trader Joe’s is listening to YOUR concerns and announced a plan to eliminate 1 million pounds of single-use plastic from its stores in 2019!
Plastic pollution is destroying our oceans. It’s harming turtles, whales, fish, and every part of the ocean food chain. There are already over 5 trillion pieces of plastic in our oceans — and the equivalent of one garbage truck worth of plastic enters the oceans every minute.
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We’ve been told individual recycling can fix this problem, but the reality is that only 9% of plastic is recycled. Instead, plastic producers have to cut plastic pollution off at the source. That includes stopping unnecessary plastic used to package the goods we buy every day. Supermarkets are where we confront the worst plastic packaging. We are sold fruit, vegetables, snacks, shampoo, and soap packaged in plastic that we have no choice but to throw away.
This announcement from Trader Joe’s is a step in the right direction — the retailer has committed to stop offering single-use carryout bags nationwide, replace its produce bags with biodegradable and compostable options, replace Styrofoam trays used in packaging, and sell more loose produce rather than wrapping it in plastic. But Trader Joe’s doesn’t go nearly far enough. There’s plenty more plastic — way more than 1 million pounds — that Trader Joe’s needs to remove from its stores. We all need to hold them accountable to this pledge and make it clear there is always room for more to be done.
Every step of the way, supporters like you have been with us in this historic campaign to transform our throwaway culture and create a sustainable future. Already, over 140,000 of you have signed petitions to supermarkets; hundreds of you recently joined us in a conference call to learn more about how to combat plastic pollution; dozens of you hosted movie screenings; and, over 250 of you conducted surveys of single-use plastic at Trader Joe’s and other supermarkets.
Thank you for everything that you’ve done and continue to do!
Together, we’re making history. Let’s to keep up the pressure and tell plastic polluters to #BreakFreeFromPlastic!
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