Whole Foods cracks down on plastic waste

Whole Foods Market will eliminate plastic straws in the U.S., U.K. and Canada by July 2019, and is replacing its rotisserie chicken containers with plastic bags that use 70% less plastic than the hard packaging.

Both of these changes come after the grocer already reduced the size of its plastic produce bags earlier this year. The Amazon-owned company said these three initiatives would reduce approximately 800,000 pounds of plastic each year.

Customers can request recyclable, compostable and Forest Stewardship Council-certified paper straws at the grocer's cafes and juice bars.

“We recognize that single-use plastics are a concern for many of our customers, team members and suppliers, and we’re proud of these packaging changes ... We will continue to look for additional opportunities to further reduce plastic across our stores,” said A.C. Gallo, president and chief merchandising officer at Whole Foods Market.