Coles is rolling out shopping bags made with marine waste and recycled plastic.
The Marine Reusable Shopping Bags are made with 80% recycled plastic, including 20% marine waste plastic. The marine waste plastic is recovered from ocean-feeding waterways and inland areas primarily within Malaysia.
Coles Chief Sustainability, Property and Export Officer Thinus Keevé says the new bags reduce the need for virgin plastic while also removing waste from the environment.
“We’re proud to be providing practical and convenient shopping bags which make it easier for our customers to shop while supporting a circular economy for plastic bags and packaging,” he says.
“We encourage our customers to reuse their bags as often as possible, but when they do reach the end of their useful life, these bags can be recycled through soft plastic collections in any our stores at the REDcycle drop off points.
“Coles and our customers have collected more than 2.3 billion pieces of soft plastic through REDcycle since 2011 and we plan to continue this journey to divert plastic packaging from landfill.”
Coles will donate 10% from the sale of every Marine Reusable Shopping Bag to support Clean Up Australia’s Buy Recycled program.
Clean Up Australia Chair Pip Kiernan says the Coles Marine Reusable Shopping Bags is a great example of how recycled material can be used to create a circular economy solution to plastic waste.
“It’s great to see the recycled content Marine Reusable Shopping Bag available as an option for shoppers across the nation. It’s a clear demonstration of how material once considered waste has been used to create a useful, reusable bag,” she says.
“Coles and their customers have, since 2018, already played an important role in Clean Up efforts in communities across Australia through the provision of materials purchased from the proceeds of fundraising from reusable community bags and Coles Liquor’s Drop of Good campaign.”
Coles Marine Waste shopping bags are available for 25¢ each at supermarkets in all states except Western Australia.