Co-op supermarket bans “bags for life” amid single-use concerns, turns to compostable alternative

06 May 2021 --- UK supermarket Co-op is removing plastic “bags for life” from sale in its 2,600 stores, warning the low-cost, reusable bag has become the new single-use carrier. 

As part of this move, and ahead of the new carrier bag levy increases, the convenience retailer will also roll out compostable carriers to all stores, ensuring customers can purchase a low-cost, low-impact alternative bag with a sustainable second use.

Co-op hailed the introduction of the 5p carrier bag charge in 2015 and welcomes the increased fee of 10p.

The latest government statistics show the current levy, which stands at 5p and applies to any retailer employing 250 or more people, has led to a 95 percent cut in plastic bag sales in major supermarkets since 2015.

However, Greenpeace data indicates UK supermarkets distributed over 1.5 billion “bags for life” – weighing a total of 44,913 tons – in 2019, a 56 percent increase from the previous year.

Co-op is now calling for a government policy requiring major retailers to report on all reusable bags, as well as single-use bags, in its new report entitled “Bag to Rights.” 

The policy would provide greater transparency to track the true impact of carrier bag levy, it indicates.

Compostable carrier bags
Co-op’s other recommendations include requiring all single-use carrier bags to be certified compostable and introducing a minimum 50p price for reusable bags.

Co-op is calling for a government policy requiring major retailers to report on reusable and single-use bag consumption.The 50p price would create a greater perceived value, encouraging customers to reuse them instead of treating them as single-use, the retailer says.

“Bags for life” use more plastic in their production than conventional single-use carriers, which has in turn increased the amount of plastic in circulation.

Co-op’s new initiative will remove 29.5 million “bags for life” – equating to around 870 tons of plastic – from sale each year.

The convenience retailer is now looking to work with more food retailers to adopt a balanced and joined-up approach to its carrier bag strategy.

“Currently, only one other retailer offers a lower-price point bag alternative to a ‘bag for life.’ Perhaps unsurprisingly, faced with limited options, many customers are simply choosing the cheapest bag available, which in many cases is a ‘bag for life,’” Co-op says.

Co-op became the first retailer to make compostable carrier bags widely available when it rolled them out to over 1,000 stores in 2018.

The bags are certified compostable with a secondary use as a food waste caddy liner at home and collected as part of local authority household food waste collections. The bags are also suitable for use in home-compost bins.

Industry reactions
Co-op Food CEO Jo Whitfield reiterates increased use of “bags for life” has led to a sharp rise in plastic use.

“With over 1.5 billion bags sold each year by retailers, this remains a massive issue for our industry as many shoppers are regularly buying so-called ‘bags for life’ to use just once, and it’s leading to a major hike in the amount of plastic being produced.”

“To help tackle plastic pollution and the use of unnecessary plastic, we will be ceasing the sale of ‘bags for life’ when current stocks are exhausted.”Co-op is looking to work with more food retailers to establish a balanced approach to its carrier bag strategy.

“We’re also ensuring all of our members and customers have access to a low price point option that’s more environmentally friendly, alongside more durable bags at a higher price point.”

“We believe that it should be mandatory for all retailers to report on the sales of all of their reusable bags, not just single-use bags.”

Helen Bird, strategic engagement manager at WRAP, adds: “All bags, regardless of the material they are made from, impact the environment.”

“The most important thing to reduce this impact is reuse. Just as we all now carry a mask about ourselves, we should be doing the same with shopping bags.”

“Supermarkets have a responsibility to incentivize this, and we would like to see transparent reporting on all types of shopping bags – whether they are made of traditional plastic, compostable plastic or paper.”

“There will be times when we forget to bring a bag and, in these instances, we can still reuse those bags, and at the end of their life, we recycle them at supermarket collection points.”

Edited by Joshua Poole