The supermarket giant today announced they would no longer offer the lightweight plastic shopping bags across its entire store network in Australia.
“This announcement by Woolworths shows they are serious about their responsibilities as one of Australia’s largest supermarket chains,” Greenpeace campaigner Samantha Wockner said.
“This ban will stop billions of bags from being used each year in Australia, tens of millions of which can make their way into our waterways and eventually end inside marine life and our food.
“It’s disappointing that leadership on this issue has come from a large supermarket chain rather than from our politicians.
Greenpeace Australia Pacific is calling on state and federal governments and other major supermarket chains like Coles to follow the lead set by Woolworths.
South Australia, Tasmania, the Northern Territory and ACT all have bans on single-use plastic bags. Queensland will introduce a ban in July 2018 while NSW and Victoria are yet to implement a policy on bags. Some Western Australian councils have indicated they could ban single-use bags.
“The overwhelming majority of Australians support a ban on single use plastic bags - which are only used for minutes on average, but then take up to a thousand years to decompose,” Wockner said.
“There is no reason for the paralysis currently infecting some state and federal governments on this issue.
“It’s time for us to ban the bag at every level.”
This ban will include all stores across the Woolworths Group nationwide - which includes Woolworths Supermarkets and Metro stores, BIG W, BWS and Online. Dan Murphy’s and Cellarmasters are already single-use plastic bag free.
For interviews contact:
Simon Black
Greenpeace Senior Media Campaigner
0418 219 086 / simon.black@greenpeace.org