You think the "avulsion war" on plastic bags is over? Think again。
Coles's decision to phase out plastic bags has once again "backfired", saying it will now offer reusable plastic bags indefinitely free of charge.
On July 1, the supermarket giant removed disposable plastic bags from stores in Victoria, New York, Kunzhou and Western Australia, but eventually handed out reusable bags free of charge.
Wednesday was supposed to be a free delivery deadline, but Coles confirmed to news.com.au that they would continue to offer the 15-cent bags free of charge.
"on July 1, Coles began phasing out disposable plastic bags in Kunzhou, New York, Victoria and Western Australia, but some customers told us," a Coles spokesman told news.com.au. They need more time to transition to reusable plastic bags. "
"We are happy to see customers getting used to bringing their eco-bags from home so that they don't rely so much on the gift bags when they check out."
"many customers who bring shopping bags from home will still find themselves taking one or two less, so we offer reusable Better Bags, for free to help them complete their shopping."
The environmental group was outraged by the decision. Jeff Angel, the principal of the Boomerang Alliance, said that it was a "a weak act".
"these so-called reusable plastic bags are almost as thin as banned lightweight plastic bags," he said.
"their lifespan is very limited, and the free supply means they're more likely to be littered-we've warned about this before."
Similar views have been expressed by social media users.
Recently, Coles launched an Little Shop campaign to launch plastic mini versions of a range of popular products, such as Nutella,Vegemite and Weet-Bix, which came under fire.
At the end of June, rival Woolworths announced that it would provide customers with 10-day reusable bags free of charge because customers underestimated the number of bags they needed.
Woolworths customers now pay 15 cents for a reusable bag.
Both supermarkets have pledged to reduce the amount of plastic used in their packaging, and Coles has vowed to halve food waste and turn all its own branded packaging into recyclable packaging by 2020.
Australians have been divided since the ban came into effect. Some consumers applauded the move, saying it was long overdue, but more complained about the shift.
Last month, (SDA), a store, distribution and co-employee association, said cashiers at Coles and Woolworths found rats, cockroaches, needles, razor blades, false teeth and dirty diapers in reusable bags.
But supermarkets denied the reports, saying that "the vast majority" of customers gave "respect and patience" to employees during the transition.
In May, Woolworths investigated 12500 customers into a ban on one-off plastic bags. According to their survey, nearly 75 percent of the people supported the switch to reusable plastic bags, compared with less than 15 percent of the dissidents.
Plastic bans have been successfully imposed around the world, including South Australia, without much controversy.