Time to shame McDonald’s, Walgreens and others for their toxic, wasteful paper receipts

I recently learned about the environmental impact of paper retail receipts.
A group called Green America released a report on June 25 about retailers with the best and worst practices regarding sales receipts. Of the 36 companies studied, those that got the best marks offered electronic receipts and phenol-free paper receipts.
Only three retailers in the study got A grades for offering digital receipts and phenol-free paper receipts: Apple, Ben & Jerry’s and Best Buy. The rest fell short, most by a lot.
Green America estimates that U.S. paper receipts consume over 3 million trees and 9 billion gallons of water each year. It said that receipt production generates over 4 billion pounds of greenhouse gases (the equivalent of 450,000 cars on the road) and 302 million pounds of solid waste.
What’s worse, many retailers are using paper coated with toxic chemicals, namely bisphenol A (BPA) or bisphenol S (BPS).
Nobody likes receipts. We’ve just gotten used to receiving them. More retailers need to ask consumers if they want or need a receipt before automatically printing one. When I’m asked if I want a receipt, I almost always say no. If there’s an email receipt option, I choose the electronic option. I get receipts emailed to me from Best Buy, Home Depot, Office Depot and small businesses that use Square.
Green America is on the right path with this crusade to get retailers to change their practices. I think Americans can get behind this cause, unlike unpopular moves like banning plastic straws. But I don’t think the group should promote new state or federal laws at this point. Instead, I think it should get companies to change their behavior by shaming them and getting shareholders and customers to push for change.
The group can start with the worst offenders. It gave D ratings to 17 companies. They include pharmacies Walgreens and Rite Aid; grocery chains Safeway and Aldi; restaurants Burger King, Chipotle, McDonald’s, Panda Express, Subway, Taco Bell and Wendy’s; and retailers 7-Eleven, Claire’s, Family Dollar, Petco, TJX Companies and Walmart.
Green America’s “Skip the Slip” campaign is a righteous one.

Photo: Skip the Slip graphic by Green America.