Woolworths to scrap 15c plastic bags in one state: 'Big win'

Ash Cant
·2-min read

Woolworths has announced plastic bags will be phased out next month in one Australian state, ahead of new legislation which will ban plastic bags later this year.

On Monday, Woolworths announced it would be phasing out the 15 cent reusable plastic bags in Western Australia in the coming weeks.

Stores across the state will gradually run out of stock, ahead of Western Australia's new legislation coming into effect in July this year.

A shopper carrying a reusable plastic bag is seen leaving a Woolworths Sydney CBD store, Sydney, Monday, July 2, 2018.
Woolworths will be phasing out reusable plastic bags in Western Australia. Source: AAP

Instead, customers will need to either bring their own bags or purchase an Australian-made paper bag while at the store.

If ordering online, customers in Western Australia will also receive a paper bag, instead of the reusable plastic one.

According to the supermarket, more than 80 per cent of Woolworths customers already bring their own bags when shopping.

“This change will see more than 30 million plastic bags removed from circulation in WA every year - which is a big win for the health of our oceans and waterways," Woolworths State General Manager for WA, Karl Weber said in a statement.

“While our paper bags will continue to be available, the most sustainable bag you can use is the reusable one you bring from home."

Western Australia's new legislation will come into effect on July 1 this year and businesses will no longer be able to supply number of plastic items.

A general view is seen of a Woolworths store in Brisbane, Friday, June 25, 2021.
Woolworths customers will be able to purchase paper bags instead of reusable plastic bags. Source: AAP

The banned items include:

  • Any plastic shopping bag with handles

  • Paper shopping bags with plastic laminate

  • Disposable plastic straws & stirrers

  • Disposable plastic cutlery

  • Disposable plastic plates

  • Disposable plastic bowls without lids

  • Disposable plastic food containers without lids

  • Expanded polystyrene food containers & trays

From 1 October this year, business in Western Australia will not be allowed to offer disposable plastic cups for cold drinks.

Stage Two of the ban will begin on January 1 2023 and more enforcements will be likely in July that same year.

In 2018, Woolworths and Coles banned single-use plastic bags, which ultimately changed how customers shop at supermarkets.

Instead, reusable plastic bags were sold at stores and in a year after the ban Coles said some 1.7 billion single use plastic bags were diverted from landfill, while Woolworths diverted 3.2 billion.

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