Bay of Plenty supermarkets are the latest doing their part to help minimise single-use plastic waste.
Countdown stores within the region for example, are some of many who have taken a stance against creating pollution.
Tauranga store manager Craig Taylor says it starts from the checkout.
'As of two weeks ago we are completely free of single-use plastic bags at our checkouts, and in their place we are offering our eco-bags along with another type of plastic bag which can be used up to 10 times.
'Any customer entering our store with eco-bags from any supermarket, can replace them completely free of charge should they break or become warn-out.
'Their old eco-bags then get placed in a bin at our store and we send these away to be recycled.”
He says their efforts are also being streamlined across most of their operations.
'We are also trying to reduce waste within our online shopping and within our produce department, where we are trying to make a switch to cardboard and paper, and minimise plastic as best as we can.”
The store offers a click and collect service, along with delivery, where customers can shop online and choose to either pick their goods up from in store or have them delivered.
'We are now bagging all of these online orders in brown paper bags, which come in three sizes, to minimise waste even further.”
Craig says the Tauranga and Bethlehem stores are leading the charge for the region, being the first Countdown Bay of Plenty stores to implement the new policy.
He says it's a change that's being strongly supported by the community.
'Ninety-nine per cent of customers are for it. We did a lot of advertising in the month leading up to it and so most of them are ready.”
And as a constant reminder, customers are also encouraged from the carpark all the way into the store to remember to bring their own bags.
The next stores in line to phase out single-use plastic bags in the region include Countdown Bayfair, Papamoa, Te Puke, Rotorua and Whakatane, who will cease their use of single-use plastic bags at checkouts from September 3.
2 comments
Big Picture
Posted on 29-08-2018 13:17 | By Dino
I commend the supermarkets for their actions...however if they really want to make an impact they need to look at the packaging of their meat, veges frozen goods and just about every other item on their shelves....i think you will find there is more plastic on their shelves that is creating more damage than the shopping bags......the real biggie is actually disposable nappies...parents need to go back to cloth nappies and help reduce the recyclable waste that is disposable nappies.
Never Satisfied
Posted on 29-08-2018 20:00 | By Mommatum
And so it begins. Rather than a simple expression of gratitude, just like the smoke free lobby anti plastic police have to preface that with the inevitable “but”. Or in this case “however.” So now supermarkets who are there to SELL GOODS TO US are meant to waste time and moneyy nitpicking about how everything is packaged, and of course the inevitable emotional blackmail of parents (for that read “primarily mothers”) to use cloth nappies. Of course these worthy taxpayers do realise that this will also create “cloth nappy poverty” requiring some of their earnings to bail out beneficiary famiies in particular Maori/Pasifika who have bigger families. The real “biggie” I think is another bored, middle class bunch of do gooders being given the power to dictate how the rest of us live and the choices we make. A lobby that is never satisfied.
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