— Furniture Today
CONSHOHOCKEN, Pa. — Ikea, with a goal of “reducing plastic bag litter that is strangling our planet,” plans to

start charging a nickel for each of its plastic bags starting March 15.

The idea is to encourage shoppers to use its reusable Big Blue Bag, which it will now sell for 59 cents, down from 99 cents.

A press release from Ikea announcing the move today notes that according to the Environmental Protection Agency, the United States consumes more than 380 billion plastic bags, sacks and wraps each year. Each year, Americans throw away some 100 billion polyethylene plastic bags, and less than 1% of them are recycled.

Single-use bags made of high-density polyethylene are the main culprit. Once brought into existence to tote purchases, they will accumulate and persist on our planet for up to a thousand years, the retailer said.

Ikea will donate the proceeds from sales of its 5-cent bags this year, up to a maximum of $1.75 million within 12 months, to American Forests, a nonprofit conservation organization, to plant trees to restore forests and offset CO2 emissions.

Ikea said its Big Blue Bag, while also made of plastic, is durable, strong and roomy. Because one sturdy reusable bag will replace hundreds of single-use bags, the retailer hopes customers will bring it along to carry purchases when they shop at Ikea stores and elsewhere.

“We realize that our Bag the Plastic Bag Program is a small step,” said Pernille Spiers-Lopez, president, IKEA North America. “But we know our customers want to help and support the sustainability of our planet — for today — and for the future of our children.”

Ikea projects that the number of plastic bags used by their U.S. customers will be reduced by at least 50% from 70 million to 35 million in the first year. This program was launched in Ikea store in the United Kingdom in spring 2013, and reduction has been 95%.