黑料不打烊

Kroger Co., the largest supermarket chain in the country, recently announced plans to get rid of single-use plastic bags in stores by 2025. It鈥檚 the most recent in a series of announcements by large companies striving to hit sustainability goals in the coming years.

served as a deputy to President Obama鈥檚 science advisor in the Senate-confirmed position of Associate Director of Environment and Energy (head of the division of environment and energy) in the White House Office of Science and Technology Policy during President Obama鈥檚 first term.

She is currently University Professor and program director for the Environmental, Sustainability and Policy integrated learning major at 黑料不打烊鈥檚 Maxwell School.

Abbott says:

鈥淜roger鈥檚 initiative to phase out the distribution of plastic bags is another example of the private sector stepping up to help solve environmental problems and promote sustainability.

鈥淧lastic bags were invented for food safety and convenience.聽Although typically used just once for less than 15 minutes, those bags can linger for hundreds of years in landfills or travel to the oceans where they can end up floating in the Pacific Garbage Patch, an area between Hawaii and California more than twice the size of Texas, or interacting with marine wildlife.聽They鈥檝e even been found 36,000 feet down in the deepest and most remote point in the Pacific Ocean鈥攖he Mariana Trench.

鈥淭ragically, some estimates suggest as many as 100,000 marine animals are killed by plastic bags annually.聽 The last study of how much plastic enters the ocean, published online in Science in 2015, concluded that about 4-12 million metric tons of plastic washed into the oceans in 2010, probably enough to cover all the coasts around the planet.

鈥淏ut that鈥檚 only about one percent of the world鈥檚 plastic production.聽Where does the other 99 percent end up?聽Untangling this and other examinations of the full life cycle, greenhouse gas, and health and safety implications of using plastic bags, paper bags, disposable bags, or recycled bags are needed.聽That same study estimates a doubling of plastic in the oceans by 2025, the same year Kroger proposes to end the distribution of plastic bags from their stores.

鈥淚n the meantime, Kroger could advance sustainability by encouraging reuse and recycling of plastic bags already in the marketplace, as well as ramp up its phase-out nationally.鈥�

To request interviews or get more information:

Daryl Lovell
Media Relations Manager
Division of Marketing and Communications

T聽315.443.1184 聽聽M听315.380.0206
dalovell@syr.edu |

820 Comstock Avenue, Suite 308, 黑料不打烊, NY 13244
news.syr.edu |

黑料不打烊