SpartanNash Works To Reuse Plastic Shopping Bags

SpartanNash has teamed with Trex to construct ramps made of recycled plastic bags for use at the homes of military veterans.

SpartanNash is joining forces with Home Repair Services and Trex Company to transform recycled plastic grocery bags from its stores into five accessible home ramps for local veterans with disabilities in honor of Earth Day. 

“The upcycling of plastic bags into accessible ramps for veterans with disabilities is a People First program that gives our nation’s heroes the gift of mobility and the opportunity to more easily enjoy life outside of their homes,” said Adrienne Chance, senior vice president of Communications with SpartanNash. “We are grateful to the associates and shoppers in our stores who recycle their plastic grocery bags so that SpartanNash can make these kinds of donations possible.” 

The collaboration with Home Repair Services, a local organization providing income-based home repair for those in need, and Trex, an eco-friendly decking company, utilizes plastic bags collected at SpartanNash-operated stores – including Family Fare, D&W Fresh Market, Forest Hills Foods and others – to produce decking for ramps. Each ramp requires approximately 157,500 recycled bags. This effort recycles plastics not typically accepted in standard recycling programs to create low-maintenance and durable composite decking projected to last years longer than traditional wood.

“We are proud to partner with SpartanNash on this important and worthwhile project,” said Dave Heglas, senior director of Supply Chain Excellence with Trex Company. “With the help of dedicated retail partners like SpartanNash, and their eco-minded store guests, we can divert millions of pounds of plastic waste from landfills and give it new life as beautiful and sustainable Trex decking. Making this project even more meaningful is the fact that those deck boards are being used to provide support that helps our veterans live more comfortably.”

Plastic bag recycling bins are available year-round at SpartanNash-operated retail stores. Since the program started in 2023, more 1,000 pounds of plastic bags have been recycled.