Supermarket giant Woolworths has partially wound back its new single-use plastic bag ban – well, for the next ten days, at least.
For the next little while, shoppers in Victoria, New South Wales, Queensland and Western Australia will be offered reusable plastic bags, which usually cost 15c a pop, for free.
The shake-up comes after a flood of vitriol from grocery-getters who somehow missed the publicity blitz and in-store signage advertising the shift from free single-use bags, which occurred on June 20.
Woolies’ Facebook page, which was already one of Australia‘s most concentrated sites of shopper rage, has been inundated by folks who say the single-use bag ban is nothing but a profit-grabbing exercise, or that they simply don’t have enough reusable bags to carry their weekly grocery hauls.
Others have complained about the bags themselves, with some criticising their size, weight, and flexibility. Which… okay. Sure.
In a statement obtained by the Herald Sun, Woolies managing director of supermarkets Claire Peters said “This will not only help support customers as they work to form new habits but also ensure they’ll have reusable bags available for shopping at Woolworths.”
The offer will not apply in Tasmania, the ACT, and South Australia, where single-use plastic bags have been banned in supermarkets for bloody yonks. It’s also worth noting those regions have done just fine without those flimsy green boys, so there’s hope yet that Australia as a whole can adapt.
