Plastic Bag Fees Led to 58% Dip in Consumption at Lowe’s Stores

SEATTLE (Scrap Monster): The introduction of charge on single-use plastic bags has led to significant decline in single-use plastic bag use at Lowe’s Canada corporate and affiliated stores. Lowe’s Canada had introduced charge on plastic bags at its corporate stores in Quebec in June 2018. All of its stores across Canada had introduced the charge in August.

 The press release stated that usage of single-use plastic bags at Lowe's, RONA, and Reno-Depot corporate stores reported sharp decline by 58% in 2019, as compared with the levels reported in 2017. This translates to usage of nearly 10 million fewer plastic bags over the two-year period.

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Jean-Sébastien Lamoureux, Senior Vice-President, Public Affairs, Asset Protection and Sustainable Development at Lowe's Canada noted that charging for plastic bags and spreading awareness at its stores have created positive impact on customers’ shopping habits. By reducing the use of plastic bags, the company has successfully contributed to the global efforts to reduce environmental footprints, he added.

The profits from bag charges totalled over $125,000 during the period between June 2018 and December 2019, which were donated to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.

Lowe’s Canada plans to introduce a new reusable bag at its stores in the fall. The profits from the sales of these new bags will also be donated to the Nature Conservancy of Canada.