No Time to Waste… and No Plastic Either

By the end of June, an Australian chain of supermarkets will no longer use soft-plastic shopping bags in its stores, providing its clients with eco-friendlier bags and making its part to reduce the quantity of harmful plastic from ending up in landfills.

“The most sustainable option is to bring your own reusable bag to the supermarket but for those who forget, we will continue to sell 100% recycled paper bags that can be recycled kerbside, as well as other reusable options,” states Matt Swindells, Coles Group chief operations and sustainability officer.

It is expected that the remaining supply of soft-plastic bags will be spent by the end of June. Coles has made this promise to reduce unnecessary packaging both in-store and online. It has tested alternative bags that can hold up to 6 kg of goods with prices ranging from $1 to $2.50, depending on the size. When the supermarket chain removed single-use plastic carry bags at checkouts in 2018, it prevented 14,000 tons of plastic from being produced on a yearly basis. Thanks to its most recent measure, Coles will withdraw 230 million plastic bags from circulation across the country every year.