Woolworths customers must bring or buy reusable shopping bags nationally from today as the retailer farewells the single-use plastic bag across its outlets.
The move spans all of the retail giant's supermarkets, as well as its BWS, Metro and petrol outlets, in a move that will remove more than 3.2 billion single-use plastic bags from circulation annually.
Woolworths and Coles last year agreed to help solve Australia's disposable plastic bag problem by stopping the use of single-use bags by June 30 this year, with Woolies then bringing that deadline forward to June 20.
The change has broad support among shoppers, according to the retailer, with a recent survey showing three-quarters (74.7%) supporting the move to remove single-use plastic bags.
“From the beginning, we felt strongly that this was the right thing to do and we’re really pleased to see customers are behind the change as well,” Woolworths group CEO Brad Banducci said.
“This is a landmark day for us not just as a business, but for our customers and communities, to help support a greener future for Australia. We are proud to say that from now on, single-use plastic bags are gone from our stores, for good.
“What we’re trying to do with this change is encourage more customers to bring their own reusable bags when shopping, so we can prevent plastic bags from reaching our waterways and reduce the overall production of plastics.
Banducci said it may take some time for shoppers to form new habits.
“Putting ‘reusable bags’ at the top of your shopping list, keeping a couple in the car or leaving a post-it note on the fridge are some simple tricks that could work as a reminder,” he said.
Customers who forget to bring their own bags will have a range of new alternative shopping bag options, including a new 15 cent reusable bag which is made from at least 80 per cent recycled plastic.
There is also an emergency foldable bag and the Woolworths Bag for Good which are on sale for 99 cents.
“Our Bag for Good is an unprecedented offering for our customers when it comes to reusable bags. It costs 99 cents and when it gets damaged, we will replace it for free, no matter when they bought it from us,” Banducci said.
Money made from the sale of the Woolworths Bag for Good will fund the Junior Landcare grants program, encouraging young Australians to play an active role in ensuring the sustainable future of their environment.
By the end of the month all Woolworths stores will also offer flexible plastic recycling options in all supermarkets via the REDcycle program, which is a closed loop recycling solution where customers can return soft plastic packaging used on produce, biscuit packets, frozen food bags, rice and pasta bags, confectionery packets and shopping bags, which are then sent to recycling partners. The material is delivered to REDcycle to be turned into recycled plastic products such as outdoor furniture.
