Does Safeway Recycle Plastic Bags?

Like most stores, Safeway does not directly recycle plastic bags. The reason is that it’s a supermarket and not a recycling center. So if you take plastic bags to the store for recycling, they would only collect them and then transport the bags to the appropriate recycling centers. 

You can take plastic bags to any Safeway store near you and deposit them at the plastic bag recycling depots. The depots are near the entrance of the stores. Keep reading this post to learn more about Safeway’s recycling policies.

Does Safeway recycle plastic bags for free?

Safeway collects plastic bags for recycling, and it’s free. However, as aforementioned, the store doesn’t do the recycling. Instead, it collects the bags at the recycling depots. You can find these at the front of any Safeway store. 

Usually, the store waits until customers have dropped enough bags to fill a truck. Then they drive the plastic bags to the recycling center to be repurposed. The recycling center where Safeway drops off plastic bags is the Trex Company. The company produces plastic decking, fencing, railing, and furniture from waste products like your plastic bags. 

The purpose of this is to reduce carbon footprints and the effect of climate change. To further prove its commitment to this initiative, Safeway is saying goodbye to checkout plastic bags at all its locations. So customers who’d like to use plastic bags would have to bring theirs from home. However, the store encourages customers to seek reusable options like a tote or thermal bag. They’re the best alternatives since you can reuse them multiple times.

Does Safeway sell reusable bags?

Safeway sells reusable totes and paper bags at all its stores. It costs $0.99 for the large tote bags, $0.25 for smaller sizes, and $0.15 for the paper bags. Pricing may vary across locations.

Because of the cloth-like material of the tote bags, you can wash and dry them. This way, you can reuse them for shopping, unlike the paper bag alternatives.

Customers can also bring their reusable bags from home. However, the store policy is that the cashiers can’t touch your bag if you bring it home. So you’d have to bag your groceries by yourself. This is so that the risk of transmitting the COVID-19 virus is reduced. 

Besides plastic bags, Safeway also accepts bottle returns, both plastic, and glass. In front of the stores, you’d find a bottle drop-off depot where you can discard them.


Key Takeaway

  • Safeway does not recycle shopping bags. But the store has partnered with recycling centers that do.
  • You can drop off plastic shopping bags at depots beside the store entrances. Safeway will transport them to the Trex company, which recycles plastic bags.
  • Safeway also recycles used bottles. The store has a bottle drop-off depot near its entrances.
  • Customers can bring their own shopping bags to Safeway. But that means that you’d have to bag your groceries yourself.

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