Get rid of your stash of plastic bags, donate them to Smith’s

SALT LAKE CITY — You see the pile in the corner, steadily growing every time you run an errand: The mountain of plastic bags with no place to go. Now is your chance to dispose of all the plastic bags you’ve collected over the years.

Smith’s grocery stores are asking for your plastic-bag donations with the intention of turning them into park benches. 

“Instead of plastic bags ending up in landfills or littering green spaces, we utilize innovative services to turn the material into plastic lumber for the construction of community benches and other items,” said Aubriana Martindale, Smith’s corporate affairs manager.

To celebrate Earth Month — a month dedicated to spreading awareness about sustainability and protecting the environment — Smith’s wants its carryout bags back in order to reuse them.

And it’s not just flimsy bags they’re in search of. Drop off all your unwanted bubble wrap, dry cleaning bags and clean sandwich bags for the project. 

“Earth Month is a great catalyst for action and awareness,” Martindale said. “Instead of throwing out plastic shopping bags and other plastic items, we encourage our customers to deposit them in containers located in the vestibules of our stores and help us turn more bags into benches.”

Every Smith’s store will have a bucket for you to plop your plastic stash in. 

But if you need an extra incentive to drop off your trash can liners, you’ll be rewarded five fuel points for every baggie, for a maximum of 50 points.

Additionally, a news release from Smith’s noted the company plans to phase out single-use plastic bags by 2025.