The Kroger Co., parent company to Fred Meyer, will phase out single-use plastic bags and transition to reusable bags in all its stores by 2025, the company announced Thursday.
The move is part of a broader Kroger initiative to cut down on waste, the company said.
There's not a specific date yet for when the change will hit Fred Meyer's 11 Alaska stores, said spokesman Jeffery Temple.
The ultimate goal by 2025, he said, is that customers will exclusively use reusable bags, whether those are bags they bring themselves or reusable ones the store sells. In the transition time, stores will also have paper bags, he said.
"We're giving ourselves a generous window," Temple said. "The idea is to give the customer some time to adapt. We understand they maybe forget their reusable bags."
[Public weighs in, but no action yet on plastic bag ban in Anchorage]
The news comes as the Anchorage Assembly has been weighing a proposed ban on plastic shopping bags.
Thin, single-use plastic bags have been outlawed in Wasilla since July. In a few months, a ban will start in Palmer too.
Seattle-based QFC, another Kroger retailer, will be the first in the company's retail division to phase out the single-use plastic bags, the news release said. That transition is expected to be finished in 2019.