Kroger to phase out plastic bags at stores
Yuma County looking for summit dinner sponsors
Yuma County will be hosting the 2018 County Supervisors Association Legislative Summit Oct. 3-5 and is looking for sponsors for the Thursday night dinner.
Local officials are excited for the opportunity to make this a “very special event that will enhance our community’s profile throughout the state.” Yuma County last hosted the event in 2009.
All summit meetings will take place at the Hilton Garden Inn Pivot Point Conference Center. The county will be offering two tours on Thursday including transportation and lunch. One tour will highlight the University of Arizona Experimental Farm and one tour will take a behind-the-scenes look at the Marine Corps Air Station Yuma. Two sponsors have stepped forward to pay for the tours so they are free to attendees.
Yuma County will host the Thursday night dinner at the Civic Center Terraces. Dinner for 125 attendees is roughly $5,000. The county is hoping local organizations will sponsor the dinner, either in whole or in part.
Sponsors will receive significant and prominent recognition. Organizations can contribute a different amount and receive proportionate recognition.
Attendees include boards of supervisors across all counties in Arizona, along with their county administrators, other key professional staff and CSA staff. The number of attendees is anticipated to be between 100 and 175.
While the main purpose of the summit is to set the counties’ shared legislative priorities, there will also be time for social activities. Yuma County officials want to showcase several unique venues and activities that make Yuma County special and worth visiting again.
For more information on sponsorships, contact Craig A. Sullivan at CraigS@ CountySupervisors.org or Penny Adams at PennyA@ CountySupervisors.org at call 602-252-5521.
Yuma fitness trainer uses ancient weapon to help clients
Fitness trainer Victoria Islas is introducing steel mace to Yuma and looking forward to pioneering a local mace community. She is a certified steel mace coach.
The mace can be used by anyone and can be programmed to meet many different fitness goals, from losing weight to gaining strength and everything in between, Islas said.
Steel mace training uses an ancient weapon that was used in battles in medieval times from Egypt to India to Europe. The weapon was a favorite tool used by the monkey-face god named Hanuman in India.
The mace began to make its transition to a training tool when wrestlers started to use it for its powerful benefits. The Great Gama, an undefeated wrestler from the 1800s, was said to be as good as he was because of his use of the mace.
Recently, this tool has been making its way up the chain in the fitness industry but is still an unconventional tool never heard, seen or even tried by many.
“If you are bored of just hitting the gym with the same old routine, this will spruce up your fitness program,” Islas said. “It can be used by anyone, with the mace available in many different weights, it is fun and best of all will leave you feeling like a warrior. Are you ready to lose weight, get fit and get strong the primal way?”
Islas and Steel Mace Warrior Fitness will demonstrate the training at Yuma FitXpo United on Sept. 8 at the Yuma Fairgrounds, where she will give away a 10-pound mace to one winner who signs up for the Steel Mace Warrior Newsletter via the signup sheet. The winner will be announced the next day over the Steel Mace Warrior Facebook page.
Islas is also offering free sessions of one-on-one steel mace training in August and September. For more information, visit www. steelmacewarrior.com or contact Islas at Victoria@ steelmacewarrior or 928210-1293.
CINCINNATI — The nation’s largest grocery chain has begun to phase out the use of plastic bags as more Americans grow uncomfortable with their impact on the environment.
Kroger Co. will start Thursday at its QFC stores in and around Seattle, with the goal of using no plastic bags at those stores at some point next year. The company said it will be plastic-bag free at all of its nearly 2,800 stores by 2025.
Kroger Co. orders about 6 billion bags each year for its stores in 35 states and the District of Columbia, which cater to almost 9 million people daily through two dozen different grocery chains.
The grocer, based in Cincinnati, is seeking customer feedback and will be working with outside groups throughout the transition to reusable bags. Customers will be able to buy reusable bags at its stores for $1 to $2 a piece. While brown paper bags will also be available for free, Kroger says that its goal is to fully transition to reusable bags.
“We listen very closely to our customers and our communities, and we agree with their growing concerns,” said Mike Donnelly, Kroger’s chief operating officer. “That’s why, starting today at QFC, we will begin the transition to more sustainable options. This decision aligns with our Restock Kroger commitment to live our purpose through social impact.”
The U.S. each year generates more than 4 million tons of plastic bags, sacks and wraps, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Only about 13 percent of that plastic is recycled.
A number of cities are attempting to put into place new bans on single-use plastic bags, but there has been pushback from industry groups, saying that discarding plastic bags will hurt lower-income populations disproportionately.
There has been a pushback from lawmakers as well in a number of states when cities and towns attempt to put into place ordinances that prohibit the use of plastic bags, or charge fees if customers do not bring reusable bags.
According to the Pew Charitable Trusts, since 2015 state lawmakers in Arizona, Missouri, Idaho, Michigan, Wisconsin and last year, Minnesota, have prevented local ordinances that ban plastic bags. They followed similar state actions in Florida, Indiana and Iowa, according to Pew.
But companies are free to make their own choices on that front, and increasingly, they are doing so.
There is a broader shift under way at major U.S. corporations to reduce waste. Disney, Starbucks, Marriott and McDonald’s are getting rid of plastic straws. McDonald’s said this year that it will use only recycled or other environmentally friendly materials for its soda cups, Happy Meal boxes and other packaging by 2025. Dunkin’ Donuts is phasing out polystyrene foam cups by 2020. Ikea plans to eliminate single-use plastic products from its shelves by 2020.