Micro Center Reusable Bag Policy FAQ

MicroCenterOfficial

In an effort to help the planet and reduce plastic waste, Micro Center will no longer be offering single-use plastic bags during checkout. By making this change we can eliminate over 4 million plastic bags from circulation annually.  Plastic bags often can be found scattered in our local environments on trees, in lakes, or along parks and roadways. We are looking to do our part to help solve this problem in our local communities.

Starting Oct 1st, Micro Center stores nationwide will no longer be stocking single-use plastic bags. We may be able to offer the existing stock of bags on hand and available at the registers should a customer request a bag. However, it is a limited-time exception (when our existing stock runs out, we will not be replenishing supplies) and we want to encourage customers to bring a reusable bag in the future.

FAQ:

Q: Why is Micro Center moving away from single-use plastic bags at checkout?

A: By eliminating single-use plastic bags at checkout Micro Center can help reduce the negative environmental impact these bags can cause. Beyond the greenhouse gas emissions used in their creation, single-use plastic bags by their nature are damaging to our environment. Because they are light and easily blown around, single-use plastic bags, more than any other commonly used plastic item, fail to end up in the proper channels for disposal. They get scattered around our local environments ending up in trees, parks, rivers, and oceans. Once in the environment, single-use plastic bags can cause great damage to local wildlife which can get tangled up in the bags or confuse the plastic for food or nesting material. By making this change Micro Center will stop over 4 million bags from ending up in local landfills or the local environment every year. 

Q: Why not switch to paper bags?

A: While paper bags are bio-degradable, they have a significantly higher environmental impact to produce. It takes up to 20 times as much fresh water and 43 times more greenhouse gas emissions to produce one paper bag than it does to produce a single-use plastic bag.

Q: What are Micro Center’s reusable bags made of?

A: Micro Center’s reusable bag is made of Non-Woven Polypropylene. This is a heavy-duty plastic material that can be woven and sewn like cloth and is designed to hold up under repeated use. Reusable plastic bags are the most environmentally friendly bag alternative when factoring in production methods. A reusable plastic bag must be used 14 times to offset the increase in greenhouse gas emissions created during production when compared to single-use plastic. Cotton reusable bags must be used over 130 times to have that same offset. Because of their weight and the fact that customers would have to pay for their replacement

Q: What can customers do to help reduce plastic waste?

A: We encourage our customers to purchase one of our reusable bags and bring it with them as they shop, both in Micro Center and at other stores. Building the habit of bringing personal reusable bags into stores can greatly reduce the amount of plastic waste generated by daily shopping.

elcurr

🥰 this. Our store in Overland Park, Kansas is about to start implementing this. There aren't many places in the Midwest that are completely on board with the recycling movement, so it's exciting to be able to experience the change.