“Campaign Zero Bags” – Payless Announces Plans to Reduce Use of Plastic Bags

Guam – Pay-Less has announced its upcoming launch of ‘Mission Zero Bags’ (M0B), as part of a GoGreen initiative to eliminate plastic bags and to make Guam a cleaner place to live, now and into the future.

Pay-Less Supermarkets issues over 11 million plastic bags (28% of the total plastic bag usage on Guam) each year to its customers and although the plastic bags are biodegradable, Pay-Less seeks to ramp up their efforts to reduce the environmental impact from plastic bag distribution.

“We need help from our community to make Guam cleaner. We ask you to join us and get us to zero! We realize it may seem a bit inconvenient, but it’s for the greater good and believe our community will support us,” said Carina Pegarido, Marketing Manager for Pay-Less Supermarkets.

In 1998, Pay-Less Supermarkets proudly launched the “Pay-Less Goes Green” campaign. ” As the leader in the grocery industry, we are committed to the sustainability of our island and strive to make a difference in the lives of our community, “ said Kathy Sgro, Executive Vice President.

Since that time, Pay-Less has equipped many of the stores with energy efficient equipment, bailed over 600 tons of cardboard annually, implemented recycling bins at Mangilao Pay-Less, distributed only “biodegradable” plastic bags and supported many Go Green efforts in the community; but one of the key components to our Go Green campaign is our re-usable bags.

While biodegradeable bags are a much better alternative than regular plastic bags, it still can have some harmful effects on our environment. If not properly disposed, plastic bags can clog storm drains and cause flooding in villages, litter Guam’s beautiful landscapes and beaches, and even kill marine
mammals and turtles.

As a pro-active corporate citizen, Pay-Less Supermarkets plans to expand our Go Green initiative by placing recycling bins at all our store locations and introducing our “Mission Zero Bags” (M0B) Program.

MISSION ZERO BAGS
1. Pay-less will not issue plastic bags every 3rd and 4th Wednesday each month starting from January 25th through July, and then expand the mission to every Wednesday from August until the end of the year. Customers will be encouraged to bring their own bag.

2. Anyone requesting a bag will be charged 5 cents per brown bag. No plastic bags will be available on M0B days. 100% of the proceeds from the bag fees will go towards the Community Mini-Grant Program specifically for schools or non-profit organizations with a green initiative.

3. The 5 cent bag rebate, for customers bringing in their own bag, will continue until August 1, 2012. Thereafter, the rebate will instead go towards the Community Mini-Grant program.

4. On launch day – January 25th – Pay-Less reusable bags will be sold at a discounted 75¢, and customers will receive one (1) free reusable bag with a minimum $20 purchase, per transaction.

Pay-Less Markets goal is to slowly increase the number of M0B days until we completely eliminate plastic bags at all our Pay-Less locations.

5. Visit Pay-Less stores and look for a countdown ‘ticker’ to see how close the company will get from 1.1 million plastic bags to zero. Go online to missionzerobags.com for more details and see how you can join the mission. Help us get to zero!

“I love our reusable bags. It’s easy to use and extremely convenient! Once you get into the habit of using reusable bags, you’ll never go back to plastics,” said General Manager Mike Benito.

Pay-Less Mission Zero Bags is proudly sponsored by the following companies: Matson, Capri Sun, Oreo, Frito Lay, Pantene, Pacific Trucking and Mr. Rubbishman. A special thanks to our Community Partners who have supported our initiative: I Recycle, UOG Green Army, Guam Coastal Management
Program, Sea Grant Program, Office of Senator Mabini, Guam EPA, Recycling Association of Guam, Guam Visitors Bureau, GCC Eco Warriors, Marine Mania, Sharks MADE, Island Defenders, KUAM, PDN and Guam Super Shopper.