The ban on single-use plastic bags by Australia’s two largest supermarkets prevented the introduction of an estimated 1.5 billion bags into the environment, and the retail industry is hopeful this is only the beginning. Coles and Woolworths’ decided to stop offering single-use disposable plastic bags midway through the year after years of campaigning by environmental groups and consumers.
Some shoppers objected to the change at the time but many others were strongly in support and three months of this new policy has translated to an 80% drop in the consumption of plastic bags nationwide.
“Indeed, some retailers are reporting reduction rates as high as 90%,” said David Stout from the National Retail Association. He said the ban paved the way for smaller businesses, who typically cannot afford to risk the wrath of their customers, to follow suit.
“They [supermarkets] are obviously seen as the product stewards so a lot of people will come back to them,” Stout said. “Obviously the best thing for smaller businesses is to either engineer out the bag completely or have the customer pay ... they should be able to consider that strategy without fear of backlash.”
