Coles will offer a 15-cent reusable shopping bag for free until Sunday. The supermarket admitted that "it is difficult for customers to get into the habit of bringing their own shopping bags."
Last week Woolworths responded similarly to complaints from customers. As of Sunday, all states except New and Victoria had banned disposable plastic bags. Kunzhou and WA also joined the ban on South Australia, the Capital Territory, the Northern Territory and Talla. However, supermarkets have voluntarily eliminated disposable plastic bags in stores across the country.
"in states where disposable plastic bags have been eliminated for the first time, we are happy to help customers adapt by providing free reusable shopping bags," Greg Davis, Coles's chief operating officer, said in a statement.
This means that customers in Victoria, New York, Queensland and Western Australia will receive free shopping bags until Sunday night.
Coles will also charge for its community bags, including 1 Australian dollar handbag, 2 Australian dollar backpack, 2 Australian dollar cold water bag and 3 Australian dollar sack.
However, Coles's range of Community Bag is still charged, including large handbags at a unit price of 1 Australian dollar, shoulder bags at a unit price of 2 Australian dollars, freshness bags at a unit price of 2.50 Australian dollars and jute bags at a unit price of 3 Australian dollars.
"We want to do everything we can to help our customers," Davis said. For some people, it's hard to get used to bringing bags to the supermarket or knowing exactly how many bags you need. "
While about 3/4 of consumers said they supported the ban, the move sparked strong opposition from some consumers, which the retail workers union called "the anger of plastic bags."
In one extreme example, an employee in Woolworths, WA, was choked by an angry customer.