Pay-Less Markets has added another Mission: Zero Bags day effective Monday, April 26. This means customers will have to bring their reusable shopping bags for their purchases as there will be no biodegradable plastic or paper bags distributed henceforth on Mondays and Wednesdays.
Kathy Calvo, president and CEO, said in the next few months, Pay-Less will expand the program to add another day per week to the MOB.
“Care for our community is one of the tenets of our mission at Pay-Less. We strive to be on the forefront of supporting environmentally sound practices, setting the standard for diligent corporate responsibility and will continue to do so, as we find ways to serve and bring value to our customers and the community-at-large,” Calvo said.
Last year, the Covid-19 pandemic brought upon the need to temporarily pause the use of reusable bags to ensure customer and employee health and safety at all stores. MOB was reinstated on April 7.
“We can now pivot safely back toward our goal of zero bags, especially in light of the passage of the public law banning the use of all plastic bags by January 2022," said Mike Benito, executive vice-president and general manager. "We are pleased to be community partners by educating our customers on the provisions of the plastic bag law and helping them in this transition to only using reusable bags."
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Customers will still be given a 5-cent rebate per reusable bag used at check-out; there will be additional daily discounts and specials throughout the stores when using a reusable bag.
Pay-Less Markets first introduced the use of reusable bags in 1998, followed by the launch of the Pay-Less Goes Green campaign in 2007 and Mission: Zero Bags in 2012.