Co-op, a popular supermarket chain in the UK, has announced plans to replace old single-use plastic bags with compostable shopping bags. The company estimates the new bags will save around 60 million plastic bags from ending up in landfills. The compostable shopping bags, which also double as biodegradable bags for food waste, will be targeted first at areas where composting services will accept them and eventually rolled out in all their stores.
While the Co-op plans to be plastic free by 2023, single use plastics is not the only area they are improving. The store is also focusing on energy use and food waste reduction.
Other grocery outlets are pursuing similar goals. Lidl U.K. and Asda have also announced plastic reduction goals such as eliminating plastic trays in meat departments and eliminating plastic bags in produce sections.
