Stores attack plastic problem

By ANNE BESTON and KATHERINE HOBY

Many supermarkets have begun cramming more into shopping bags in what they say is a bid to help save the planet from waste plastic.

But while their concerns for the Earth's welfare have been welcomed by shoppers, customers spoken to by the Weekend Herald have wondered whether their plastic bags will tear under the weight or be too heavy.

Progressive Enterprises, owner of Foodtown, Woolworths, Price Chopper, Countdown and Big Fresh stores, launched its campaign to halve the number of plastic bags used each year with a "Pack 7" project.

Apparently, the average number of items packed into each bag until yesterday was 3.8, but that has now been increased to seven, said Progressive Enterprises chief operating officer Richard Umbers.

He said the supermarket owner was confident the bags would be fine.

"Plenty of people don't believe the bag will hold that sort of weight but we believe this is a very good time to take this step," he said.

Edna Palmer, 69, and Marigold Lever, 71, live in Grey Lynn and shop at Grey Lynn Woolworths.

"Gosh, I hope my arms hold out," Mrs Lever said.

"It's a good idea and the young people will like it, but with my tins of catfood I like to have two bags for balance.

"I wouldn't like to walk down the street teetering, or topple over."

Mrs Palmer said: "I hope they've considered the 'granny factor'."

At nearby Foodtown, 32-year-old Chris Sutherland backed plans to cut back the number of plastic bags used.

"The kids will be pleased. They always look worried about the amount of bags I'm left with."

Progressive Enterprises has timed its initiative to tie in with the Ministry for the Environment's "reduce, reuse, recycle" campaign, aimed at cutting the estimated 3.2 million plastic bags that go to landfills every day.

Ministry spokesperson Ket Bradshaw said: "We're really pleased with Progressive's action, we need a culture change in the way people use plastic bags."

The Ministry is not impressed by research from Plastics New Zealand, representing plastics companies, that shows up to 80 per cent of plastic bags are re-used.

"There is very definitely re-use but they also litter the environment and end up in landfills,"she said.

New Zealand's other big supermarket chain, Foodstuffs, uses biodegradable plastic bags, but was continually looking at ways to reduce bag use, said Auckland managing director Tony Carter.