Quebec grocer eliminates plastic bags

MONTREAL — The Maxi & Co store located in the city of Sherbrooke has become Loblaw Companies Limited's first grocery and general merchandise store in Quebec to eliminate traditional plastic bags at the checkouts.

In April 2007, Loblaw Companies Limited made a commitment to reduce one billion plastic grocery bags from Canada's landfills within one year. Currently, Canadians use about 10 billion plastic bags per year.

"As the largest grocery retailer in Quebec and Canada, we have a duty to help reduce the quantity of waste in our communities," said Galen G. Weston, executive chairman of Loblaw Companies Limited. "Customers of Maxi & Co in Sherbrooke are responding well to the reusable bag and box proposal. In fact, the Sherbrooke area has the highest level of bag reuse within the Quebec network. This helped persuade us to operate this store free from traditional plastic bags distributed at the checkouts and to work with our customers to make a positive step towards a greener environment."