Waitrose to remove all plastic bags by March 2019

Waitrose and Partners have pledged to remove all plastic bags from stores by March 2019.

The retailer will become the first nationwide supermarket to remove the fruit and vegetable plastic bags and introduce a home compostable alternative. This change will save 134 million plastic bags, the equivalent of 500 tonnes of plastic a year.

Initially, Waitrose will remove plastic bags in six shops form 8th October to ensure the changeover in March 2019 goes smoothly.

Waitrose have already set a number of measures in place to ensure a sustainable future.

They have committed to all their own packaging being widely recyclable by 2025. To reduce the use of plastic further they will stop selling packs of single-use plastic straws by September 2018.

Tor Harris, Head of CSR, Health & Agriculture for Waitrose, said: “The removal of these bags will change the way our customers, many of whom have been asking us to do this, shop with us in the future. We know we still have a lot to do, but as with our commitment to removing takeaway disposable cups earlier this year, this represents another major step forward in reducing our use of plastics.”

Elena Polisano, Oceans Campaigner for Greenpeace UK, said: “Removing all plastic bags is a sensible move by Waitrose, but retailers must focus on moving beyond packaging that’s designed to be used once then discarded, rather than swapping one disposable item for another.”

This news follows Theresa May’s reported promise to double the plastic bag levy to 10p in a bid to reduce the UK’s plastic pollution.

Elena Polisano adds, “We welcome their recognition that this is a small part of a much bigger issue - UK supermarkets generate over 800,000 tonnes of plastic packaging waste each year. Much of it is unnecessary and all of it is a problem. We urgently need transparency on total plastic use, and annual targets to reduce that total.”

Photo Credit: Waitrose