Unsurprisingly, Coles isn’t currently teaming up with Gucci to make some designer plastic bags. In fact, is trailing to get rid of more of them in their ACT stores.
From September 14, single-use plastic fresh produce bags will be removed from all 12 stores in the state. On another note, is the ACT really so tiny that it only has 12 Coles stores? That’s officially buckwild.
“We will be looking closely at how our ACT customers respond,” stated Coles Chief Operations and Sustainability Officer, Matt Swindells.
“These insights will inform our consideration for potentially rolling this out to our customers nationally.”
However, if you’re in Canberra, and you forgot a cute tote bag for your carrots, don’t panic. Coles will be providing its customers with reusable, mesh fresh-produce bags that are created from 90% recycled materials. From August 31 until September 13, ACT peeps who spend $5.00 at Coles on some fruit or veggies will score a three-pack of these suckers for free.
Why This Is a Savvy Move By Coles
Coles removing these single-use bags from their grocery stores is a win-win in 2022. First off, you get to boast about doing the right thing. For instance, these folks weren’t shy about the fact that this initiative is expected to reduce the amount of plastic they use by 11 tonnes each year. This news is then cheered by both the public and the media. Which, you know, makes sense. We’re in the middle of a climate crisis, so anything that’ll make Australia’s living arrangements more sustainable shouldn’t be scoffed at.
Moreover, you then get to charge folks some cash if they forget their reusable mesh bags after September 13. I’m not going to lie, I might lose such a bag, so if I lived in Canberra, they could potentially make a pretty penny off of me.
Related: Huge — ACT Will Cut Its Emissions By a Whopping 30%
Related: Single-Use Plastic Bags Are Being Banned in NSW
Woolworths Is Already Ahead of the Game, Son
When The Latch reached out to Woolworths to check how they’d respond to Coles’ announcement, they weren’t sweating. This is because these folks had already launched a bigger and more impressive single-use produce bag ban in April of this year. During this month of August, they have rolled out locally-made, compostable fruit and veggie bags across all of their South Australian stores.
These bags are available in all 67 stores, and they have the potential to stop up to 70 tonnes of plastic waste from becoming landfill each year.
“We’re thrilled to be the first major supermarket in South Australia to roll out compostable fruit and veg bags in all our stores statewide as we work together with our customers to reduce plastic waste and protect the environment,” asserted Woolworths’ South Australia Assistant State Manager, Elisha Moore back in April.
Your move Coles. Let the plastic bag scrapping wars continue. Whoever wins, we all win.
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