Retailers Looking for Plastic Bag Recycling Solutions as Recycling Plants Close
Heidi Prescott / South Bend Tribune 6jul01

For years, Martin's Super Markets placed collection bins in front stores for recycling plastic shopping bags.

Shoppers dropped off dozens at a time. They didn't worry whether the bags originally came from Martin's, and Martin's didn't worry either.

Then the LaPorte plant where the supermarket chain took the plastic bags closed, and Martin's could not justify hauling them to the next closest plant it could find in Chicago. The expense would eventually be passed on to consumers, and Martin's didn't want to risk raising food prices.

So it shocked longtime customers, eliminating the program this year.
"If we were recycling just our own bags we could afford to do it," says Rob Bartels, Martin's executive vice president. "If we're not the last, we're one of the last to get out of plastic bag recycling. It has turned into a community-wide issue."
Now, many people are scratching their heads, unsure of what they can do with the seven, eight or nine plastic bags they carry home each week from area retailers.

The best solution: take them to St. Vincent de Paul in South Bend. They usually need lots of plastic bags.
"For us, then we don't have to buy them, and we use a lot of them as we run our second-hand shop," says Alicia McMurtrie, store manager at St. Vincent de Paul, 3408 Ardmore Trail. Bags can be dropped off during business hours at door E6 on the east side of the building.

The next best thing to donating the bags is reusing them at the stores that offer a very small break on your grocery bill.
Martin's shoppers receive a 3-cent credit when they bring in and reuse a plastic, paper or canvas bag. It does not have to say Martin's. "It makes us feel warm and good inside when they do, but it has to be of a comparable size. No baggies," Bartels says.
At Meijer, shoppers get a 5-cent credit for a paper or cloth bag that is reused. Meijer doesn't offer the cash incentive on plastic bags, however.

The Kroger Co. has a program that benefits area schools. Shoppers take their plastic bags to a participating school and the school earns a certain amount of money per pound of bags collected. Schools are listed inside Kroger stores.
You probably shouldn't try setting them out with their recyclables. The St. Joseph County Solid Waste Management District doesn't take them. Janice Spiek, assistant curbside coordinator, admits she used to refer a lot of callers to Martin's.
"Now I try to tell them the story about how hard Martin's has worked (to keep the service), because I don't think they understand that no one wants these plastic bags," she says. "We'd love to find someone to take them. It's always our hope that people will ask for paper (in stores)."
Plastic bags make good trash bags when you have the right size container. A Goshen man invented such a product, called Re-Use A-Bag, that has been sold in some Meijer stores.
Bartels says the community needs a systematic approach to plastic bag recycling since so many retailers use them. "A great many of (bags) end up in the landfill, which is a sad state of affairs," he says.

Martin's opens in St. Joe
What's unique about the Martin's Super Market store slated to open at 10 a.m. Tuesday in St. Joseph is the bi-level seating area at the Side Door Deli. All deli/cafe dining areas inside other stores are on one main floor.
Located at 2121 Cleveland Ave., the new St. Joe store is the second for the Martin's chain in Michigan. A Niles store opened in 1997. This is the 18th store in the grocery chain. The four-week grand opening celebration will include musical entertainment, Meet the Chef night, Diaper Derby, wine and cheese tasting and other events.

Cinnabon comes to UP Mall
A new Cinnabon store is coming to University Park Mall this fall in the former Gloria Jean's space. The storefront near L.S. Ayres is being divided for Cinnabon and Whitehall Jewelers, another new store. Gloria Jean's is temporarily being housed in a kiosk while it relocates to the Centre Court Deli, which closed on Saturday. Pacula & Co., another jewelry store, also is closing at the Mishawaka shopping center.

Have you heard?
A new Mancino's restaurant is the latest addition to North Main Street, Mishawaka. The restaurant opened Thursday between the Arby's restaurant and Gordon Food Service store ... Princess Flower & Gift Shop, 703 W. McKinley Ave., Mishawaka, has closed ... Registration is open for The Orchards Mall home and leisure show that will be held in September in Benton Harbor.