Woolworths and Coles, two major supermarkets in Australia, committed to phasing out single-use plastic bags. Two major supermarkets in Australia, Coles and Woolworths, committed to phasing out single-use plastic bags and made further commitments to reducing plastic in their supply chains. This is a significant win as billions of plastic bags are handed out at the checkout of these two supermarkets alone. Now, the supermarkets will offer reusable alternatives to these bags.
Once they enter waterways, these plastics can often be mistaken for food by marine animals like sea turtles. As plastic bags can take 20-1000 years to break down naturally, they can stay lodged in animals’ airways and cause death.
According to the National Retail Association, the switch to reusable bag options at these two supermarkets has seen an 80% drop in plastic bag consumption in Australia. With this move by the two major supermarkets in Australia, other retailers will hopefully begin phasing out single-use plastics and introduce more sustainable alternatives.
