IKEA Says Goodbye to Plastic Sacks

Shoppers at IKEA will no longer have the option of using a disposable plastic bag to carry home their goods. Beginning in October, the Swedish furniture and home goods retailer will eliminate the ubiquitous bags at its U.S. stores.

The effort follows a successful plastic bag reduction program started last year with a goal of reducing plastic bag use by 50 percent, or from 70 million bags to 35 million. During that 12-month time period, the company sold the plastic bags for a nickel, or its branded reusable bags for 59 cents. Proceeds from bags sale, totaling more than $300,000, were donated to America Forests to plant trees.

During that time, 92 percent of customers eschewed the plastic bags, the retailer said, leading the company to decide to completely pull plastic bags from its U.S. stores in October. IKEA will institute similar changes in the United Kingdom and in Australia.

“The success of this program truly demonstrates that our customers care deeply about our global home and that we can all work together to be sustainable and environmentally responsible,” said Pernille Spiers-Lopez, president of IKEA North America.

Plastic bags are under attack because of low recycling rates and the fact that they are made from nonrenewable petrochemicals.

Other retailers are making similar efforts. Whole Foods is phasing out plastic bags across the company by the end of April. The United Kingdom is considering making retailers charge customers a fee for plastic bags and China is banning the production of the plastic bags this summer.