Shop Rite Unveils Biodegradable and Compostable Reusable Grocery Bag

August 30, 2012

ShopRite is introducing America’s first durable yet compostable non-woven reusable shopping bag. At selected stores New Jersey, New York, Connecticut, Pennsylvania, Maryland and Delaware.

ShopRite logo image The new bags will serve customers for at least 100 uses and can be composted at a commercial composting facility, where they will biodegrade within 90 days.

“ShopRite has a long history of innovation and we continue to look for new ways to 'green' our business
practices,” said Karen Meleta, ShopRite spokesperson. “We are proud to be the first retailer in the United States to offer these alternative new bags to our customers.”

ShopRite stores promote the use and purchase of reusable shopping bags and offer a rebate to consumers using non-disposable bags. In 2011, more than 58 million bags were reused by ShopRite customers and in the last five years ShopRite customers have kept almost 200 million bags out of landfills, according to ShopRite data.

ShopRite is working with Burbank, Calif.-based Earthwise Bag Company Inc., the exclusive supplier of the biodegradable and compostable bags, which are manufactured from a combination of corn and tapioca fibers, using by-products from the food manufacturing process.

The bags are printed with water-based inks, sewn with cotton thread, contain no petroleum and are non-toxic and carry the ASTM 6400 certification, a national standard for biodegradability and compostability awarded by the U.S. Composting Council. They also carry a distinctive leaf embossing, which sets them apart from other bags in the marketplace, the grocer said. The bags are machine washable and have been tested to hold 50-plus pounds.

ShopRite is the registered trademark of Wakefern Food Corp., a retailer-owned cooperative, based in Keasbey, N.J., which operates 250 ShopRite supermarkets in New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Connecticut, Delaware and Maryland.

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