Yet another reason why H-E-B is the best grocery chain in the world. H-E-B brand stores all over Texas will be giving away 250,000 reusable bags on April 22 as part of their annual Earth Day tradition to reduce single use plastic among its customer base.

Visitors at any H-E-B, Central Market, Joe V’s Smart Shop, and Mi Tienda in the state have been able to get a free Earth Day-themed bag since 2008, amounting to over three million bags within 15 years.

The annual bag giveaway event will begin in all stores at 10 am while supplies last. Customers who would like to own more of the “Our Texas, Our Future” Earth Day bags can purchase them for just $1.50 each.

Many H-E-B Partners are celebrating Earth Day in their own way by volunteering for clean-up or tree planting events, or by hosting in-store events for customers. Select stores will even host family-friendly "Environmental Education Scavenger Hunts" with EcoRise, a local sustainability organization in Austin. The self-guided tours will allow children to learn how H-E-B protects the environment, and how they and their families can get involved with eco-friendly practices.

Earlier in April, H-E-B rolled out new environmentally-conscious initiatives to boost the company’s commitment to reduce waste while maximizing eco-friendly choices in local communities. Some of the new measures include revamping plastic bag collection bins, introducing a new curbside plastic bag collection system, and switching their plastic cutlery to biodegradable versions at all stores, restaurants, and business locations.

Additionally, students from 600 Texas elementary schools participated in H-E-B’s yearly “School Plastic Bag Recycling Challenge” and collected over four million plastic bags. The winning schools that collected the most plastic bags will receive H-E-B gift cards.

The San Antonio region elementary schools that won H-E-B’s challenge are:

• Randall Fields Elementary
• Hopkins Elementary
• Lyndon B. Johnson Elementary

H-E-B also partnered with Keep Texas Recycling to choose six projects to distribute their 2023 Community Recycling Grants, totalling $157,000. The grants will fund improvements for better access to recycling and developing educational resources for nearly 350,000 Texans in Pharr, Ingleside, Cuero, Texas City, Burleson County, and San Angelo.

More information about H-E-B's sustainability initiatives can be found on their website.