Over the past five years, many retailers have achieved spectacular reductions in their usage of plastic checkout bags. There are many innovative ways that retailers can reduce usage of these bags – in some cases to zero.

Positive charge

Bunnings reduced their usage of plastic bags by over 99% by introducing a charity charge of 10 cents per plastic bag. This success enabled them to totally ban the usage of plastic bags at the checkout.

IKEA took the same approach – like Bunnings they gave the bag charge to charity. As a result, they have now banned the usage of single-use HDPE plastic bags in their stores.

The ALDI supermarket chain has more than 150 supermarkets Australia-wide and they also charge for plastic bags. This saves them passing on the cost of ‘free’ plastic bags to consumers in the form of increased grocery prices. As a result, their customers save money by bringing their reusable bags when they shop.

Paper solution

For over 30 years, McDonald’s has led the way in Australia by using paper takeaway bags in their restaurants. The company walks the talk environmentally by handing out around 160 million paper bags every year.

One of The Body Shop’s core values is to 'Protect our Planet'. This includes protecting wildlife, especially endangered species and eco-systems. That’s why the company is proud to have been Plastic Bag Free in all its stores since 1999.                

Customers are given bags that use 50% recycled paper (which includes up to 50% post-consumer waste), elemental chlorine free pulps, environmentally friendly inks and water based adhesives. Each customer is asked if they need a bag (many don’t) and are encouraged to reuse.

Nando's were a major user of plastic bags, but they switched to paper bags. Why? Because food in paper bags doesn't just help the environment, it also sweats less in paper bags meaning the food tastes better.

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