WESTERN HILLS PRESS
host BE THE
Your Community Press newspaper serving Western Hills, Cheviot, Green Township and other West Cincinnati neighborhoods
WITH THE
MOST THIS TAILGATE SEASON
WEDNESDAY, AUGUST 29, 2018 ❚ BECAUSE COMMUNITY MATTERS ❚ PART OF THE USA TODAY NETWORK
FC Cincy clears final goal in Clermont County Sheila Vilvens Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
Kroger uses 6 billion plastic bags annually. The industry discards an estimated 100 billion a year. ALBERT CESARE/ THE ENQUIRER
KROGER TO BAN PLASTIC CHECKOUT BAGS BY 2025 Alexander Coolidge Cincinnati Enquirer USA TODAY NETWORK
HELLO Kroger said it will ban all plastic checkout bags by 2025. America’s largest supermarket chain said it will transition from single-use to reusable bags and ultimately eliminate 123 million pounds of garbage annually sent to landfills. That would quadruple the amount of plastic the retailer currently recycles. Kroger sells reusable bags starting at $1 each. Kroger will ramp up the availability of those bags. Shoppers for the foreseeable future will still have the option of asking for paper bags. Kroger said it is also looking to cut back or phase out plastic bags for produce and meat, but it’s focusing on eliminating checkout bags for now. The ban will directly affect a wide swath of consumers: Kroger serves 9 million customers every day at its nearly 2,800 stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia. Kroger’s Seattle-based QFC subsidiary, with 63 stores in the Pacific Northwest, will be the first division to eliminate the bags by 2019. Besides hundreds of its namesake stores in the Midwest and the South, Kroger operates hundreds more under the Harris Teeter, Ralphs, Fred Meyer, Fry’s and other nameplates. Kroger officials said they are responding to growing environmental concerns raised by shoppers, employees, communities and nonprofits. “The plastic shopping bag’s days are numbered,” Kroger CEO Rodney McMullen wrote in an editorial submitted to The Enquirer and USA Today. “Our customers have told us it makes no sense to have so much plastic only to be used once before being discarded – And they’re exactly right.” Kroger’s decision will pressure other major competitors to follow suit. With nearly $123 billion in annual sales, Kroger is the second-largest grocer (behind Walmart, which is a mass discount retailer
Find your news
To see news for your community, visit bit.ly/YourCommunities
Contact The Press
A customer carries their items from Kroger to their car in plastic bags in Newport, Ky., on Wednesday, Aug. 22. ALBERT CESARE / THE ENQUIRER,
that gets half its $500 billion in sales from food). “We’re the first major retailer in the U.S. to do this,” said Jessica Adelman, Kroger’s vice president of corporate affairs, which oversees company environmental and sustainability efforts. Kroger uses 6 billion such bags annually, while the industry discards an estimated 100 billion bags each year. Only 5 percent of supermarket bags are recycled by consumers. Last year, Kroger collected almost 38 million pounds of plastic for recycling in those instore bins at the front of stores. Additionally, Kroger recycled another 28 million pounds of plastic from other operations for a total of 66 million pounds. Kroger officials said they decided to implement the transition at QFC because of the division’s small size and half its stores already are under a ban enacted by Seattle in 2012. See PLASTIC , Page 2A
News: 513-248-8600, Retail advertising: 768-8404, Classified advertising: 242-4000, Delivery: 513-853-6277. See page A2 for additonal information
Goal. FC Cincinnati’s plans for a $30 million practice and training complex in Clermont County were greenlit last Wednesday morning. The Clermont County Commissioners removed a significant obstacle to the soccer club’s plans to build in Milford with its approval of a new 1 percent lodging tax. The money generated by the tax will go toward the $5 million cost of land for the complex. The city of Milford agreed to pay $3.5 million of the cost through the sale of securities. FC Cincy is paying the remaining $1.5 million. The $244,000 the additional lodging tax is projected to raise will be funneled to Milford for debt service. Even with the proceeds from the additional tax, Milford will have to pay over $40,000 of the debt service from its own funds. Besides assistance with the cost of land, FC Cincinnati is also receiving, through the Clermont County Port Authority, over $20 million in incentives for construction including the issuance of lease revenue bonds. Once fully operational, the facility is estimated to bring in an additional $6.7 million annually to the county and an additional 50 to 60 jobs. Approval of the lodging tax was not unanimous. Clermont County Commissioner David Painter voted against the tax. Before casting his vote, he noted that the commissioners recently granted a 20 percent tax exemption for 10 years on real estate taxes, worth about $75,000 a year, for Design Within Reach which is building a facility in the county’s South Afton Industrial Park. The $17 million project will contribute about 85 jobs to the county. Ahead of his yes vote, Commissioner David Uible said that FC Cincinnati is See SOCCER, Page 2A
Junior newspaper carriers needed Hey kids! Become a Community Press carrier and earn your own spending money and still have time for other fun activities since delivery is just once a week on Wednesday. It’s your own business where your neighbors rely on you to deliver information about their community. You’ll learn valuable business skills and gain experience in customer service and money management. You’ll also be able to earn bonuses, and possibly win prizes. Call 513-853-6277.
Vol. 90 No. 42 © 2018 The Community Recorder ALL RIGHTS RESERVED
Price $1.00