Whole Foods discontinues 10-cent bag credit for customers who bring in reusable bags
CHICAGO (WGN) — Whole Foods, an American supermarket chain with locations in 45 states, Canada and the United Kingdom, has discontinued its program that offered customers a 10-cent grocery bag credit for those who brought in reusable bags.
The 10-cent bag credit program, often referred to as the BYOB (Bring Your Own Bag) refund, was implemented in 2008 as a means to encourage customers to adopt using reusable bags.
According to a company spokesperson, with reusable bags now standard practice around the United States, Whole Foods sunset the program, though the company said they continue to encourage customers to maintain the environmentally friendly habit.
'World's Best' speakeasy in the Loop quietly closes
As the years went by, Whole Foods' BYOB refund program proved to be ahead of its time. In 2017 under then-Mayor Rahm Emmanuel, the City of Chicago implemented a 7-cent tax on checkout bags aimed at reducing the circulation of one-use plastic bags.
According to a study conducted by the University of Chicago's Urban Labs, they discovered Chicago's bag tax reduced disposable bag use from 82% of consumers to just 54%, while doubling reusable bag use from 13% to 29%—a change that occurred within the first month of the tax in 2017. The study also found this trend persisted as time went on.
As a part of Chicago's budget that passed for fiscal year 2025, the city voted to increase the checkout bag tax from seven cents to ten cents, with nine cents from every bag going to the city, and one cent from every bag going to retailers.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
21 minutes ago
China's exports climb 4.8% in May as shipments to the US fall nearly 10%
China's exports rose 4.8% in May from a year earlier, a bit lower than expected, as shipments to the United States fell nearly 10%, according to data released Monday just hours ahead of another round of trade talks between the U.S. and China. Imports declined 3.4% year-on-year, leaving a trade surplus of $103.2 billion. China exported $28.8 billion to the United States in May, while its imports from the U.S. fell 7.4% to $10.8 billion, the report said. Still, exports to Southeast Asia and the European Union remained robust, growing 14.8% and 12%, year-on-year. 'The acceleration of exports to other economies has helped China's exports remain relatively buoyant in the face of the trade war,' Lynne Song of ING Economics said in a commentary. Still, trade slowed in May from an 8.1% jump in China's global exports in April. Many businesses had rushed orders to try to beat higher tariffs, even as some new import duties took effect or remained in place. Exports will likely rebound somewhat in June thanks to a 90-day suspension of most of the tariffs China and the U.S. imposed on each other in their escalating trade war. 'But with tariffs likely to remain elevated and Chinese manufacturers facing broader constraints on their ability to sustain rapid gains in global market share, we think export growth will slow further by year-end,' Zichun Huang of Capital Economics said in a report. Despite the tariffs truce, the rancor between Beijing and Washington has persisted, with angry exchanges over advanced semiconductors, 'rare earths' that are vital to many industries and visas for Chinese students at American universities. The next round of negotiations was due to take place later Monday in London, following a phone call last week between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. Other data released Monday highlight the pressure on the world's second largest economy from slowing exports, since China imports many of the components and materials needed for the goods it assembles for the world. But at the same time, China's own domestic markets are suffering. The government reported that consumer prices fell 0.1% in May, evidence of sluggish demand. The persisting deflation partly reflects lower food prices, economists said. Producer price deflation was worse, contracting 3.3% in May, its lowest level in almost two years, after falling 2.7% in April.
New York Post
2 hours ago
- New York Post
‘60 Minutes' correspondent Scott Pelley warns a CBS settlement with Trump would be ‘very damaging'
'60 Minutes' correspondent Scott Pelley spoke out about President Donald Trump's lawsuit against CBS and its parent company on Saturday, arguing that a settlement would be 'very damaging.' 'Well, it'd be very damaging to CBS, to Paramount, to the reputation of those companies,' Pelley said during a conversation with CNN's Anderson Cooper on Saturday, who asked how harmful a settlement and potential apology would be to the network. Trump filed a lawsuit against Paramount Global, CBS News' parent company, over a '60 Minutes' interview with former Vice President Kamala Harris in October 2024. Fox News Digital confirmed that Trump rejected a $15 million offer to settle his lawsuit, according to a source familiar with the matter, as the president's legal team is also demanding at least $25 million and an apology from CBS News. Cooper, who is also a correspondent on '60 Minutes,' also asked Pelley about former show producer Bill Owens resigning from the program in April. 'Bill's decision to resign may not have been much of a decision for him because he was always the first person to defend the independence of '60 minutes.' Bill didn't work for Paramount. Bill worked for our viewers, and he felt very keenly about that. And so I'm not sure Bill had any choice, once the corporation began to meddle in Bill's decisions about the editorial content, or just place pressure in that area, Bill felt that he didn't have the independence that honest journalism requires,' Pelley said. 4 Scott Pelley warned that a settlement between President Trump and CBS would be 'very damaging.' 4 President Trump rejected a $15 million offer to settle his lawsuit, according to Fox News Digital. AP Pelley also said he wished he had the public backing of CBS News, but added that his work was still making it onto the program. 'You really wish the company was behind you 100%, right? You really wish the top echelons of the company would come out publicly and say '60 Minutes', for example, is a crown jewel of American journalism, and we stand behind it 100%. I haven't heard that. On the other hand, my work is getting on the air, and I have not had anyone outside '60 Minutes' put their thumb on the scale and say, 'you can't say that. You should say this. You have to edit the story in this way. You should interview this person.' None of that has happened. So while I would like to have that public backing, maybe the more important thing is the work is still getting on the air,' Pelley said. 4 The Federal Communications Commission accused '60 Minutes' of heavily editing an interview with Kamala Harris in 2024. 60 Minutes / CBS 4 Former show producer Bill Owens resigned from the program in April. The '60 Minutes' correspondent recently went viral for calling out Trump during a commencement address. 'In this moment, this moment, this morning, our sacred rule of law is under attack. Journalism is under attack. Universities are under attack. Freedom of speech is under attack,' Pelley said during his commencement speech at Wake Forest University. 'And insidious fear is reaching through our schools, our businesses, our homes and into our private thoughts, the fear to speak in America. If our government is, in Lincoln's phrase, 'Of the people, by the people, for the people,' then why are we afraid to speak?' Pelley addressed the remarks during the CNN interview and told Cooper that he felt 'strongly' it needed to be said. 'I don't refer to him or the president or the White House or the administration. But I was talking about actions that have been taken by the government over these last many months. But, there was a little bit of hysteria among some about this speech, and I simply ask you, what does it say about our country when there's hysteria about a speech that's about freedom of speech?' the CBS correspondent added.
The Hill
3 hours ago
- The Hill
China's exports climb 4.8% in May as shipments to the US fall nearly 10%
BEIJING (AP) — China's exports rose 4.8% in May from a year earlier, a bit lower than expected as shipments to the United States fell nearly 10%, according to customs figures released Monday just hours ahead of another round of trade talks between the U.S. and China. Imports declined 3.4% year-on-year, leaving a trade surplus of $103.2 billion. China exported $28.8 billion to the United States in May, while its imports from the U.S. fell 7.4% to $10.8 billion, the report said. Trade slowed in May after China's global exports jumped 8.1% in April, even after U.S. President Donald Trump struck a deal with Beijing to delay implementation of stiff tariff hikes to allow time for talks. Many businesses had rushed orders to try to beat higher tariffs, even as some tariffs took effect or remained in place. The next round of U.S.-China talks was due to take place later Monday in London. The talks follow a phone call last week between Trump and Chinese leader Xi Jinping. In early May the two sides agreed to a 90-day suspension of most of the tariffs they had imposed on each other in their escalating trade war. Since then, the U.S. and China have exchanged angry words over advanced semiconductors, 'rare earths' that are vital to many industries and visas for Chinese students at American universities.
