Shoppers can bag compostable carriers at Co-op as retailer ditches single-use plastics
4 December 2018
The community retailer is rolling out it new compostable carrier bags to over 1,000 communities in a move estimated to replace around 60 million single-use plastic bags UK-wide.
The bags are initially available in Co-op food stores in communities where they are accepted by the Local Authority in the household food waste collections.
Shoppers - who forget their bag-for-life - can use the compostable bags to carry shopping home, the carriers then have a secondary use as food waste caddy liners. The bags can be turned into peat-free compost along with the household food waste, and are approved for home composting.
The compostable carriers are priced at 5p, the same price as the conventional single-use plastic bags that will be removed.
The roll-out follows live consumer testing in 22 stores in the Greater Manchester earlier this autumn.
The move is part of Co-op’s new hard-hitting ethical strategy called “The Future of Food – a recipe for sustainability” which sets out how the Co-op will tackle plastic pollution as well as food waste, healthy eating, saving energy and trading fairly.
