A supermarket chain has started selling reusable plastic baskets to get around bans on single-use plastic bags.
Countdown, owned by supermarket giant Woolworths, introduced the idea as an alternative to reusable plastic or paper bags at their 180 New Zealand stores.
And the plan is cost-effective too, with 18.4 litre baskets setting customers back just $9.60.
The baskets are made of plastic from scrap resin that has been ground down and re-used.
The material is stronger than virgin plastic and can be recycled at the end of its life.
Plastic-free campaigner Trisia Farrelly said the baskets are a more viable option than thin plastic bags that are prone to breaking and snapping.
‘Something that’s reusable, repurposed and recyclable sits much higher up the waste hierarchy than something that has a single use and can’t be recycled,’ she told Stuff.
‘If supermarkets are seeing this as an option, that’s great. My concern would be if they were made using virgin plastic, which would just be adding to the volume of plastic in circulation.
‘My concern would be if they were made using virgin plastic, which would just be adding to the volume of plastic in circulation.’
Executives at Countdown expect the move will cut out 350 million bags every year.
The chain removed single-use plastic bags from its stores in October 2018.
Coles and Woolworths banned single-use plastic bags in July 2018 following mounting pressure to tackle plastic waste.
REFS
Published on dailymail.co.uk
RELATED ARTICLES