Plastic bags are on their way out
Aldi already has no plastic bags in their stores and the two major supermarkets in Australia have announced that there will be none in their stores by end 2018.
For Woolworths, this will also mean Big W and the other businesses in the group.
Brad Banducci, Chief Executive Officer of the Woolworths Group, said; “We currently give out more than 3.2 billion lightweight plastic bags a year and hence can play a significant role in reducing overall plastic bag usage. Whilst we know this is a major decision, we will work very closely with all of our store teams to ensure the transition for our customers is as simple as possible.”
Woolworths are not only removing plastic bags from it’s many outlets but has determined that it will also be working to reduce plastic across the it’s whole supply chain. So the flow on effects will be hitting manufacturers and fresh produce suppliers as well.
Obviously the aim of these decisions is to encourage customers to use reusable bags and dramatically reduce the massive amount of bags which end up as waste each year.
Coles Chief Customer Officer, Simon McDowell, said; “We know customers like the convenience of single-use bags, so we’ll make sure we have plenty of other options for them if they forget to bring their own bags from home.”
Coles is still going to have the option of soft plastic recycling at 630 stores.
Several states already have government bans on plastic bags and it is expected that it will eventually be the case across the country.