In another step closer to revolutionising Australia’s plastic waste and carbon reduction efforts, leading producer of compostable packaging, MyEcoBag® has launched a new partnership with Ritchies IGA, following an exceptionally successful trial in a select number of stores earlier this year. The partnership offers customers reusable compostable shopping bags as an alternative to traditional plastic and paper, while educating shoppers on the surprising impacts of each. 
The partnership comes after an eight-week trial in five Ritchies IGA stores across Victoria. The bags were so well received by the stores’ growing customer base, that the partnership has now rolled out to all 76 Ritchies stores in Victoria, NSW and Queensland.
“The pioneering partnership stands in stark contrast to the retail and supermarkets’ roll out of paper bags in recent years and is lifting the lid on the misconceptions around sustainability and suitability of the paper bag program,” MyEcoBag said.
“Most supermarket bags, made of paper sourced from trees and offering recyclable disposal, are often considered to be the environmentally-friendly choice, however, this is a common misconception, and one MyEcoBag is hoping to shift,” according to the brand.
Carbon Positive Australia reports that the production of paper bags requires significantly more resources than plastic bags.
“Paper bags require roughly four times more water than the manufacture of plastic and produce 3.1 times more greenhouse gases. Further, paper bags weigh roughly eight times more than plastic bags, meaning they are significantly harder to transport due to increased volume. For example, transporting two million paper bags will require seven times as many trucks as two million plastic bags.”
Ritchies IGA National Merchandise General Manager Jarrod Swaine says the customer response to the interstate rollout has so far been overwhelmingly positive.
“Customers are happy to think they finally have another choice, and people love that they can reuse the bags in the kitchen for food scraps, and easily place it into their council green bin (where accepted) or home compost. From a functional perspective, the bags have performed well against their paper counterparts, fitting more items within than paper bags, and holding the weight with ease.
“The Carrum Downs store sold 20,500 bags, Mount Eliza sold 10,250 and Mount Martha 10,250 also, all within the first few weeks. Every two in three customers opted for the compostable option over traditional paper bags, with customers requesting more as soon as they sold out.
“A fantastic result, and we’re really looking forward to seeing the results across the broader Ritchies network,” he said.
MyEcoBag CEO Richard Tegoni says the partnership has been a great case study for what’s possible, preferred and planet-friendly, and one that he hopes will influence the wider industry to move towards a more environmentally friendly option, at a much faster rate.
“In our latest effort to promote sustainability, we are excited to showcase the versatility of compostable materials through the widespread use of shopping bags. This initiative aims to acquaint a broader audience of shoppers and consumers with the practical and environmental benefits of choosing compostable bags, a choice that reflects MyEcoBag’s commitment to a sustainable circular future,” he said.
Since January 2024, the MyEcoBag brand of products has increased its presence and are in more than 2400 Australian stores comprising 970 Woolworths stores, 850 Coles stores, 76 Ritchies IGA and other independent retail distributors.
According to the brand, “MyEcoBag has continued to strengthen its position as the number one brand in Woolworths compostable bin liner sales, capturing over 50% share in the latest quarter. The brand has also recently captured the market lead position at Coles, recording over 40%
“With the increase in bin liner sales, shoppers have voiced concerns about shopping bags ripping, tearing, and being non-reusable. The demand for alternatives to conventional plastic and paper shopping bags is anticipated to drive the brand’s growth over the next two to three years.”
The MyEcoBag shopping bags are spacious and durable enough to hold about ten kilograms’ worth of groceries. The bags are puncture and tear resistant, similar to traditional plastic shopping bags, meaning they can be reused as shopping bags multiple times and finally as a liner for kitchen compost caddies. “They are fast to compost, taking as little as 90 days to fully break down when composted, leaving no microplastics or toxic residue.” Made with GMO-free corn and other certified compostable materials, they are both compost and worm-friendly.