“Woolies” to let customers bring their own containers to take home food

Australian supermarket chain Woolworths’ shoppers will soon be able to reduce waste by bringing their own containers to take home seafood, meat, and deli items.

Woolworths announce a BYO container scheme to n]help reduce packaging waste

Australian supermarket and grocery chain, Woolworths has announced plans to trial a Bring-Your-Own (BYO) packaging scheme for shoppers in a bid to cut back on plastic trash. In addition, they have also partnered global zero-waste shopping provider Loop which sells a variety of consumables and household products in reusable containers. 

Woolworths hope to get the trial ‘up and running soon’

Australian supermarket and grocery chain, Woolworths has revealed it is planning to trial an option for customers to provide their own packaging to cut back on disposable plastic.

This idea is already active in some UK supermarket chains* but was previously rejected by Coles and Woolworths due to hygiene concerns. 

However, the food retailer now plans to ask its staff to clean supplied containers before customers are given their orders, the Herald Sun reported. Swab tests are being carried out to check the efficiency of the cleaning procedures.  

Woolworths said they hope to get the trial ‘up and running soon’ and that they are working with local councils to ensure the ‘proposed processes meet or exceed their regulations’. 

Woolworths government relations manager Paul Crossley said the ‘biggest challenge’ would be preventing customers from being overcharged because of the container’s additional weight. 

Mr. Crossley also said the company wanted to guarantee the system would comply with health and safety laws before it is rolled out. 

Woolworths have also partnered global zero-waste shopping provider Loop which sells products such as juice, ice cream and shampoo in reusable containers. 

From 2021, shoppers will be able to purchase items in environmentally-friendly packaging which is delivered to their door, then picked up once it is empty to be cleaned and reused.  

The company’s green initiatives include:

• Woolworths has reduced plastic packaging of fruit and vegetables by 500 tonnes over two years. 
• The change follows the supermarket giant’s ban on single-use plastic bags in June 2018. 
• Six months later they stopped selling plastic straws in their stores.

Note: Woolworths Supermarkets (trading as Woolworths and colloquially known as "Woolies") is an Australian supermarket/grocery store chain owned by Woolworths Group. Despite similar names, Woolworths Group has no affiliation with the F.W. Woolworth Company in the United States, the now-defunct Woolworths Group in the UK or the South African chain of retail stores, Woolworths Holdings Limited.

*UK supermarkets addressing this issue include Tesco, Aldi, Waitrose and Morrisons. Click on each to learn more.

Source: MSN