IKEA Bans Plastic Bags for Good

Almost two years ago, IKEA announced it was going to start charging for plastic bags in the UK; then we heard that IKEA US was following suit by charging five cents per plastic bag. Soon after, that news was followed by a plastic bag ban in their UK stores, so perhaps the latest from the Swedish flat-packers shouldn't be too surprising: in an effort to promote the use of reusable bags, IKEA will no longer offer plastic bags starting in October.

Judging by the numbers, this won't be a huge stretch for IKEA customers: last March, IKEA set a goal of reducing its US stores' plastic bag consumption by 50%; after crunching some numbers, a whopping 92% of IKEA customers went for the reusable bag over the pay-for-plastic option. That's a lot of big blue bags, and even more plastic bags kept out of landfills.