2 Supermarkets To Donate Plastic Bag Fees To Huntington Hospital

The IGA supermarkets in Fort Salonga and East Northport will be donating their 5-cent fee for carry-out bags to Huntington Hospital.

Charlie Reichert, who owns the supermarkets, says he decided to donate the funds after receiving customer feedback on the bag fees. “We started this because we were hearing from our customers who were unhappy that the 5 cents was not going toward a local cause,” he said in a press release. “That’s when I decided to donate the money raised from the bags to the hospital.”

“Knowing the great work and services that Huntington Hospital provides, I am particularly pleased by the charity Charlie has selected. I would say this is a win, win for Suffolk County residents,” Legis. William R. Spencer, M.D, said.

Michael Dowling, president and CEO of Northwell Health, said the hospital will use the donation to reinvest in services that benefit the Huntington community.

According to Spencer’s office, supermarket chains have seen up to an 80 percent decrease in plastic bag consumption in the first month of the law’s implementation.

“The goal of this law is to reduce the bag waste that is generated by the 10 billion single-use carryout bags consumed annually in New York that typically ends up in our parks, beaches and roadways,” Spencer said.

Image via Office Of William Spencer