Tell Albertsons: Get toxic "forever chemicals" out of our food

The petition to Albertsons reads: "Stop poisoning customers with toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in your food. Remove PFAS chemicals from your food packaging immediately." Add your name:

We expect the food we buy from a local grocery store that we eat or serve to our families to be safe. But new laboratory testing of food packaging from Albertsons - the second-largest grocery store chain in the country whose stores include Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, Acme, Shaw’s/Star Market, Randalls and Tom Thumb - indicated the presence of toxic per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances in many of its store-branded products, including some organic brands.1We expect the food we buy from a local grocery store that we eat or serve to our families to be safe. These toxic fluorinated chemicals, called PFAS or "forever chemicals" because they don't degrade in the environment and take a very long time to leave the body, are linked to cancer and harm to the reproductive and immune systems. We must speak out now and demand that Albertson's remove these chemicals from their shelves immediately. Tell Albertsons: Get toxic "forever chemicals" out of your food. Click here to sign the petition. In addition to food packaging, PFAS chemicals are found in drinking water across the United States and in common household items, like non-stick pans, stain-resistant carpets and waterproof clothing. PFAS exposure is linked to a whole host of diseases including "immune system toxicity, elevated cholesterol, delayed mammary gland development, effects on the thyroid and liver, and cancer."2 Food companies use PFAS in packaging for its water- and grease-resistant properties, but the chemical leaches into the food we eat and becomes a persistent threat in the environment. The testing conducted by Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families and Toxic-Free Future found that the packaging of many store brands on the shelves of Albertsons-owned grocery stores indicated the presence of PFAS chemicals, including dental floss, bakery cakes and packaging for conventional and organic popcorn.3 Activism to ban PFAS from food packaging is working. One of Albertsons' top competitors, Ahold Delhaize, the owner of Food Lion, Giant, Stop & Shop and others, recently announced that it's banning PFAS from its store-brand food packaging.4 And after public pressure by allies and food safety experts, Albertsons replaced some packaging items, although many still remain on store shelves. While this is a step in the right direction, it's simply not enough to replace only a few items. Albertsons must remove all PFAS chemicals from its stores now. Click the link below to sign the petition: https://act.credoaction.com/sign/albertsons-pfas?t=9&akid=34325%2E3130208%2EZktKEM Heidi Hess, CREDO Action Add your name: References: Mike Schade and Erika Schreder, "Toxic food packaging at the grocery store?" Safer Chemicals, Healthy Families, May 13, 2019. Massachusetts Breast Cancer Coalition, "The Risks of PFAS," accessed Oct. 2, 2019. Toxic-Free Future, "Study: PFAS in Food Packaging," accessed Oct. 2, 2019. Lorraine Mirabella, "Giant Food and other Ahold Delhaize stores restrict use of toxic chemicals in packaging," The Baltimore Sun, Sept. 20, 2019. MORE INFORMATION  Letter to Albertsons CEO Vivek Sankaran from Safe Chemicals

ASK GROCERY STORES TO PHASE OUT SINGLE-USE PLASTIC CHECKOUT BAGS

Workers removing plastic bags from recycling machines

As some of you know, Tucson is having a recycling crisis. Because of the contamination in our recycling, it is becoming cost prohibitive to keep the program running. First, they will cut back recycling pickups to twice a month and could raise the cost from the current range of 15 cents to 45 cents per household monthly. That is particularly due to the plastic bags that people try to recycle or bag their recycling items in. Every 2-3 hours, the recycling people have to stop the machine and remove the plastic bags wrapped in the gears by hand!

It is time that we ask grocery stores to take responsibility for getting us hooked on plastic bags in the first place! 

PLEASE, TAKE A MINUTE TO ASK GROCERY STORES TO PHASE OUT

SINGLE-USE PLASTIC CHECKOUT BAGS!

Add your name now

https://petitions.signforgood.com/StopPlasticPollution?code

Every minute, the equivalent of an entire garbage truck of plastic gets dumped into our oceans. That’s 8 MILLION tons entering our oceans each year. We have to act now.
Plastic never goes away – it breaks down, poisoning our environment and marine life. And the situation is dire: Researchers are finding plastic pollution at the deepest depths of the ocean. Vulnerable species like sea turtles and blue whales are being pushed closer to extinction. And without drastic action, by 2050, there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish. It’s a recipe for disaster of the highest magnitude.

But we can do something to stop this. Up to 80% of plastic in our oceans comes from land-based sources, including single-use plastic checkout bags: Shoppers worldwide use 500 BILLION checkout bags – and right now, we need your help to pressure corporations to take action and phase-out these single-use plastics. If big grocery chains take action, they can make a huge dent in this crisis.

We’ve already started to make progress: The nation’s largest grocery chain has already committed to phasing out plastic checkout bags. But to truly make a difference, we need grassroots advocates to demand their competitors do the same. Can we count on you to add your name now to demand Albertson’s and Safeway end single-use plastic checkout bags in their stores? The health and vitality of our oceans depend on it – we can’t afford to wait a single moment. Sign the petition and help protect our marine life from deadly plastic pollution!
Petition sponsors:

Clean Water Action
California League of Conservation voters
Daily Kos
Friends of the Earth Action
Plastic Pollution Coalition
Sierra Club

More Information on recycling in Tucson: 

City of Tucson to cut back on recycling pickup in cost-cutting measure

New Rules for Recycling in Tucson 

Turn up the heat on Albertsons! Tell them to end throwaway plastic!

The plastic-free movement is gaining momentum!   Nearly two and a half million people around the globe have joined you in telling corporations to stop producing throwaway plastic.

The millions of metric tons of plastic that enter our ocean each year are enough to cover every foot of coastline in the world!1 And that’s just a fraction of the total plastic production — which is set to dramatically increase if we don’t demand change now!

Now it's time to focus that energy on supermarkets. Kroger, the nation’s largest supermarket chain, has pledged to phase-out single-use plastic bags. By its count, Kroger uses about 6 billion plastic bags a year. Supermarkets like Kroger are hearing the message from concerned citizens like you all over the world to get rid of single-use plastic!

But we’re just getting started! We’re part of a coalition asking Albertsons Companies, another large supermarket chain (and owner of Safeway, Vons, Jewel-Osco, and many other supermarket chains), to commit to phasing-out plastic bags. If Albertsons joins Kroger, we can eliminate an additional 3 billion plastic bags every year!

Sign our joint petition: Urge Albertsons to eliminate single-use plastics in its stores!

Our message to Albertsons is simple, but powerful: plastic bags are used for just a few minutes, but pollute our environment, wildlife, and oceans for a lifetime. Recycling alone will never be enough to solve the plastic pollution crisis — we need Albertsons and other companies to stop forcing plastic onto consumers like you and me. Albertsons can follow Kroger's lead by banning single-use plastic bags, but must go even further and commit to phasing out all single-use plastics in its stores nationwide!

Over the last several months, we have seen a surge of awareness about the impacts of throwaway plastic. Every week there are announcements from airlines, universities, towns, and even whole countries committing to phasing out single-use plastics. Change is possible, and it’s happening before our very eyes. This is why it’s so important to keep the momentum going and call on Albertsons to join the growing trend.

Tell Albertsons to be on the right side of change and demand it joins Kroger in phasing-out plastic bags!

- Natalie Nava, Plastics Project Leader, Greenpeace USA

[1] sciencemag.org/news/2015/02/here-s-how-much-plastic-enters-ocean-each-year

Sign this petition: Urge Albertsons to eliminate single-use plastics in its stores!

Please, consider adding a paragraph explaining how one use plastic effects you and your town. That way your comment won't be disregarded as a form letter.

Here is the personal message I added - to be considered an example.

I live in Tucson. Arizona. We are a tourist town. But how can we continue to attract tourists if ugly plastic trash lines our city streets? Now China has refused to take our recyclables. One of the reasons is because plastic grocery bags get caught in their machines - making it too costly. Our recycling company wants to cut back our service because of the cost. (2)

 

Please, take steps to educate your customers about one use plastic and eventually phase them out. 

(2)  Arizona Daily Star article: Making Tucson's recycling program profitable, successful

#nosingleuseplastic 

Tell Safeway/Albertsons: lose the plastic bags!

Do you ever shop at Albertsons, Safeway, ACME, Jewel-Osco, or Shaws?

These stores and others are owned by Albertsons Companies LLC, the nation's second-largest grocery chain.1 If Albertsons follows the lead of Krogers (the nation's largest chain) and bans single-use plastic, we could keep billions of bags out of our oceans.

Most of the plastic produced in the United States is made from natural gas.2 The continued proliferation of disposable plastic bags, straws, and soda bottles creates an incentive to tear up our landscapes with dirty and dangerous fracking operations -- all to create products made to last forever, but be used only once.

The good news?

Retailers have a huge opportunity to help eliminate plastic waste. If Albertsons took action, based on sales, they could eliminate an estimated 3 billion bags per year.

How many of the 3 billion bags end up here?

Albertsons says they still carry plastic bags because they offer recycling as an option, but only 9 percent of plastics are ever recycled.3 Instead, most of this waste ends up in our backyards, oceans, and even our beer!4

Will you tell Albertsons CEO Robert G. Miller that, as customers, we want them to be a part of the solution?

We know that companies can do this. Just a few weeks ago Kroger -- the only U.S. grocery chain larger than Albertsons -- committed to phasing out bags and other single-use plastics as a part of their zero-waste commitment. If we can get the two largest grocery chains in the United States to eliminate the wasteful distribution of single-use plastics, we can create a domino effect across the market.

Plastic pollution is a problem we cannot ignore; giant plastic islands are floating around our oceans, acting as a trap for fish and sea animals. And our plastic use is growing so rapidly it's estimated that, by weight, there will be more plastic in our oceans than fish by 2050.5

If we work together, we can reduce fracking AND stop plastic waste from suffocating our waterways, wildlife, and environment.

Will you speak up?

- The SierraRise team

References
1. "Albertsons, About Us," accessed September 20, 2018, Albertsons.
2. Thomas Kevin Swift, et al., "The Rising Competitive Advantage of U.S. Plastics," May 2015, American Chemistry Council.
3. Laura Parker, "A Whopping 91% of Plastic Isn't Recycled," July 19, 2017, National Geographic.
4. Mary Kosuth, et al., "Anthropogenic Contamination of Tap Water, Beer, and Sea Salt," April 11, 2018, PLOS ONE.
5. "The New Plastic Economy," January 2016, Ellen MacArthur Foundation.

Other Sponsors:

- Friends of the Earth Action
- Climate Hawks Vote
- Greenpeace USA
- Plastic Pollution Coalition