With sustainability and the war on plastic ever more at the forefront for Irish consumers, companies are taking notice.
Many businesses are looking to reduce the levels of single-use plastic and this latest initiative comes courtesy of Supervalu.
The supermarket chain has announced that from the 9th of September it will be introducing new 100% reusable and compostable shopping bags in stores. The retailer says this will result in 2.5million plastic bags being taken out of circulation.
It’s just the latest in a number of green-focused moves by the company. In 2018 SuperValu introduced compostable fruit and vegetable bags and has committed to making its own brand and fruit and vegetable packaging reusable or compostable by 2025.
Other supermarket chains are making similar changes to help address the climate crisis and reduce single-use plastics. Lidl has committed to putting recycling stations at the end of customer checkouts in its 160 stores across Ireland, Aldi Ireland has pledged to end wasteful packaging by 2022, and in the UK M&S is trialling plastic-free loose product. Business too, such as Imbibe Coffee in Dublin and Sligo's Sweet As... , are working towards a zero-waste goal.
The reusable Supervalu bags will be priced at 89cent each and, when they’re ready for the bin they can be put in the brown compostable bin. According to SuperValu, once taken to industrial composting sites the bags will turn into water and CO2 within 90 days rather than ending up in landfill.
