RELATED: Push for plastic-free city
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Some of Bendigo’s major supermarkets are non-committal on the idea of having recycled ‘boomerang bags’ in front of their local stores.
The idea of having reusable, fabric bags outside local stores was mooted last week by a Bendigo Sustainability action group, which hopes to use Department of Justice labour to make the bags that would be returned by shoppers on their next visit to a particular store.
The action group – Plastic Free Bendigo – hopes to engage local businesses to help reduce the use of plastic bags across across the municipality.
The Bendigo Advertiser contacted Woolworths, Coles and ALDI to see if the idea would be a realistic possibility.
A Coles spokesperson said it was happy to talk to local organisations about any initiatives they had.
“Coles encourages our customers to use reusable bags when shopping in our stores nationally and we provide a range of reusable bag options at different price points for sale,” the spokesperson said.
An Aldi Australia spokesperson, while not directly answering all of the Bendigo Advertiser’s questions, said ALDI Australia supported a complete ban on single use plastic bags.
“From day one ALDI has never offered free plastic bags to its shoppers,” the spokesperson said.
“Through our plastic bag policy, ALDI encourages customers to bring their own shopping bags, or alternatively, they can purchase a reusable bag from the store.
“ALDI’s heavy duty plastic bags are made from 80 per cent recycled material and none of ALDI’s reusable carrier bags contain any traces of lead, including all prints.”
Similarly, a Woolworths spokesperson said the company complies with state and territory legislation with regards to shopping bags.
The spokesperson said Woolworths’ REDcycle recycling program encouraged shoppers to return plastic bags, biscuit packets, frozen food bags, rice and pasta bags and confectionery packets, which were turned into outdoor furniture for schools by a manufacturer.
“In 2016, Woolworths customers returned more than 118 tonnes of plastic to selected stores to be recycled,” the spokesperson said.
Coles is involved in a similar program, its spokesperson said.
In a Bendigo Advertiser poll titled, ‘Would you use a 'boomerang bag' for shopping instead of a plastic bag?', 66 per cent (157 respondents) said ‘yes’, while 78 (33 per cent) said ‘no’.