Meijer's small format grocery store is scheduled to open in Royal Oak at the end of the month without typical plastic and paper bags.
Woodward Corner Market is aiming to eliminate single-use bags by encouraging customers to bring their own reusable bags and by selling reusable and recyclable bags at the register, according to a Wednesday news release.
Woodward Corner Market will be the Walker-based grocery chain's first small concept in metro Detroit and its first store to eliminate single-use bags. The 41,000-square-foot store is set to open Jan. 29 as the largest tenant in the Woodward Corners development by Beaumont Health.
Customers who do not bring their own bags will have the option to purchase two types at checkout. The 10-cent option buys a low-density polyethylene bag made of 80 percent recycled content. For $1, customers can have a black bag 100 percent recycled through plastic bag recycling containers in front of the store.
Each type is "third-party verified to be used up to 125 times" depending on load weight, the release said.
"We understand this is not a common practice, but we believe this is the right move for this community and our customers," Natalie Rubino, store manager, said in the release. "Meijer is committed to lessening our impact on the environment."
Meijer isn't the only grocery chain to experiment with phasing out plastic bags. Cincinnati-based Kroger Co. announced in 2018 that it intended to eliminate plastic bags across its 2,800 stores by 2025. The decision is not only good for the environment, but good for winning business from patrons who value corporate responsibility.
Meijer spokesman Frank Guglielmi said in an email that the company is considering implementing the policy at other stores.
"We are looking forward to hearing from our customers once Woodward Corner Market opens," he said.