If you shop at Woolworths you would have noticed the difference already, but no matter where you shop, from this Sunday, you will no longer get a free single-use plastic bag when you shop for your groceries, with Coles cutting out the single-use plastic bag on this date. Both of the leading Australian supermarket giants plan to go even further.
“We know that 69 per cent of customers say that we need to actively reduce waste and landfill through recyclable packaging and find alternative uses for waste,” Coles managing director John Durkan said.
Coles has pledged to reduce plastic wrapping on fruit and vegies, including bunches of bananas, kale and silverbeet, and replace meat and poultry product packaging with recycled and renewable materials.
It set itself a deadline of 2020 to halve food waste from its supermarkets and make all packaging of its branded products recyclable.
Coles will also donate the equivalent of 100 million meals to people in need by redistributing surplus food.
Meanwhile, rival Woolworths says plastic straws would be banned by the end of this year, while its program to remove plastic wrap from fruit and vegetables will be expanded to include another 80 products.
It’s also looking to expand its food waste reduction programs to all stores.
The next step may be following the European Union, which recently outlined plans for a ban on all single-use plastics including straws, cutlery and cotton buds.
Do you support the decision to try and stamp out waste? Could the supermarkets have acted on this quicker? What steps would you like them to implement to see waste reduced?
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