Reusable grocery bags at the Decorah Fareway store could set an example for all Fareway stores

The Decorah Fareway store is one of a handful of Fareway stores conducting a new test to see whether customers can be convinced to use recyclable grocery bags when they go shopping.

The store started its test in late October, according to Fareway Executive Vice President of Merchandising Mike McCormick.  He tells decorahnews.com the test "is just another change" in a long line of green projects for the grocery chain.  For instance, in 1955 Fareway began heating its stores by reclaiming heat generated by refrigeration compressors.  Fareway started recycling cardboard at its stores and its warehouse in the late 1960s.  It now recycles wooden pallets, waste oil, tires, antifreeze, batteries, scrap iron, aluminum, magazines, newspapers, waste paper, ink cartridges, fluorescent bulbs, plastic shrink wrap, plastic grocery sacks, and plastic bottles.

Now the company hopes it can get customers to switch to using reusable cloth-like shopping bags made from recycled plastic.  At the Decorah Fareway and a few other stores throughout its network, it has done promotions to sell the reusable cloth-like bags, such as holding drawings for prizes and prominently displaying signs reminding customers to use the bags.  It is also tracking statistics about reusable grocery bag use.

McCormick says the test case in Decorah and the other stores will probably run through January, giving the corporate offices an idea of whether grocery customers can get in the habit of bringing bags with them when they go grocery shopping.  The results at the Decorah Fareway store could then influence what Fareway does in all of its stores.