Advertisement

Woolworths delivery leaves mum fuming about her $2 decision

A NSW mum has taken aim at Woolworths for filling her online delivery with unnecessary plastic bags, despite claiming to have paid an extra $2 for a bag-free service.

Bon Brennan said she upgraded to the supermarket giant’s premium Crate to Bench delivery service, which is supposed to reduce the amount of plastic used in online orders.

However, the plastic reduction doesn't appear to have occurred in this instance, according to a sarcastic Facebook post the Tamworth woman shared Monday night.

“Hey Woolworths,” she began her post. “I happily pay a little bit extra on my groceries order to have it crate to bench without any plastic bags, because I do acknowledge it’s a little more work for your team.”

Pictured is the Woolworths Crate to Bench order Tamworth NSW mum Bon Brennan claims to have received despite paying extra for the bag-free service.
Tamworth mum Bon Brennan was unhappy to find her Woolworths delivery covered in plastic bags, despite saying she paid extra for a bag-free service. Source: Bon Brennan / Facebook

The post included a picture of her order, where every item appeared to be covered in some form of plastic bag or packaging.

“As you can see, it was money well spent on this order!” Ms Brennan joked.

A Woolworths spokesperson replied to Ms Brennan’s post Tuesday offering to refund her packaging fee.

“Although we still need to pack certain products, such as produce, chilled and frozen items, into produce or reusable bags due to food safety reasons, it does appear that your order has been packed excessively,” the statement said.

“We'd like to send feedback to the team that packed the order as well as organise a refund of the packaging fee.”

Ms Brennan responded to their response with: “I understand some things, including produce, but there were 5 sweet potatoes in 5 plastic bags”.

“I’ll forfeit my $2 refund because I ain’t no snitch,” the customer added, meaning she didn’t want the packers to get in trouble.

Woolworths has apologised to the customer, a spokesperson confirmed to Yahoo News Australia Tuesday afternoon.

Aside from the crate to bench option on home delivery orders, customers are encouraged to use REDcycle facilities in stores across the country to return soft plastics from produce items to be recycled.

The Woolworths Crate to Bench premium service is one of the supermarket's initiatives to minimise plastic waste. Source: Woolworths
The Woolworths Crate to Bench premium service is one of the supermarket's initiatives to minimise plastic waste. Source: Woolworths

What is the Woolworths Crate to Bench service?

"We'll pack your delivery order directly into our crates and then unpack it when we arrive,” reads a description of the Crate to Bench service on the Woolworths website.

According to the website, the initiative was one of several designed to “help reduce our impact on the environment” in the wake of last year’s national single-use plastic bag ban.

Woolies did clarify that some products would however still be packed into produce or reusable bags due to “food safety reasons”.

Supermarkets under fire in war against plastic

Despite the move to reduce plastic, shoppers at Woolworths, as well as Coles, have noted an abundance of plastic with the premium bagless options, as well as produce in stores wrapped in plastic.

Last week, Woolworths was criticised for reportedly charging less for the same product wrapped in plastic, as well as delivering milk bottles covered in plastic wrap.

In addition to the supermarket bag ban, a new plan has recently been touted to completely ban single-use plastic bags and microbeads at all Australian retailers.

Do you have a story tip? Email: newsroomau@yahoonews.com.

You can also follow us on Facebook, download the Yahoo News app from iTunes or Google Play and stay up to date with the latest news with Yahoo’s daily newsletter. Sign up here.