Countdown to tackle other plastic issues after bags are banned

Thursday, 5 October 2017

Countdown general manager James Walker says the plastics bag ban is just the beginning.

Countdown says its plastic bags ban is just the start of it tackling the issue of plastic.

On Thursday, Countdown announced it would ban single-use plastic bags by the end of next year.

Countdown general manager James Walker says the company will eventually tackle the issue of wrapped fresh produce.

But Countdown general manager James Walker said customer complaints about unnecessarily wrapped fresh produce and plastic bags for fruit and vegetables would also be addressed.

'Bags for fruit and vegetables, and at the deli, aren't part of this commitment, but in the future they will have to be looked at,' he said.

Countdown pledged on Thursday to be plastic-bag free be end of 2018.

* Western Australia to ban plastic bags from July 2018

* New World supermarket asks for feedback on plastic bags**

'We are picking these things off one at a time but it would be impossible to transition completely out of plastic at once.

Foodstuffs boss Steve Anderson says the company will give out free reusable bags over summer.

'We're very aware of the feedback around [packing of fruit and veges]. It's something we are absolutely looking at. As alternatives become available we will be rolling them out.'

Walker said customers need time to adjust to a plastic ban.

In the past, customers have expressed outrage on social media when fresh produce has been unnecessarily packaged.

'We've got an internal working group looking at what's the right mix of alternatives, how we get them into stores, and then how our physical checkouts can accommodate people bringing their own bags,' he said.

'We are going to do a lot of customer communication between now and then.'

Foodstuffs, which owns Pak 'n Save and New World, has said it will stick to its BagVote strategy after Countdown announced its bag plans.

Foodstuffs said on Thursday that it would give away 2 million reusable bags over summer.

In September, Foodstuffs launched BagVote giving customers the choice of a charge of 10c or 15c per plastic bag, or no charge.

There was no option to totally ban bags.

Sources said Foodstuffs was being cautious with its approach following a customer backlash when it introduced a 5c bag levy to its New World, Pak 'n Save and Four Square stores in 2009.

The levy resulted in a 65 per cent drop in plastic bag use and the $50,000 raised was donated to the Department of Conservation.

But the move was so unpopular with New World customers it only lasted a month before the bags were once again offered for free.

At the time, Foodstuffs managing director Steve Anderson said: 'We cannot please everyone in this debate. We gave it a go but the objections were too noisy.'

Anderson said on Thursday, he was looking forward to the results of BagVote and would 'immediately introduce some initiatives to help encourage a further reduction of plastic bag usage by our customers'.

Some resistance to a plastic ban has come from shoppers who give plastic bags a second life, using them to take lunches to work, as bin liners, or to pick up dog poo.

But Countdown's James Walker said there was always a better option.

'There is a better alternative for almost everything you use a plastic bag for,' he said.

'For example, people committed to sorting their rubbish might be in a better position to not use bin liners.

'People do change their behaviour and it becomes a new norm.'