FROM 9 SEPTEMBER, SuperValu will have a compostable shopping bag on offer for customers. 

The Irish chain says that this is the first bag available in Irish supermarkets that is both reusable and compostable, and will remove 2.5 million plastic bags from circulation.

It will cost 89c and is made from a blend of renewable raw materials. 

“When the bag has been used as many times as possible and is ready for the bin it can be disposed of in the brown bin that is found in most homes and many businesses and is then fully broken down once taken to industrial composting sites, turning into water and CO2 within 90 days,” a statement said this morning.

SuperValu says it aims to have all its own-brand bags be recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025. Its fruit and vegetable bags have been fully compostable since 2018.

It said that it’s also trialling loose items, and says some stores are already selling loose coffee, spices, tea, and cheeses.

Source: Sasko Lazarov/Photocall Ireland

Martin Kelleher, Managing Director of SuperValu, said that customers expect SuperValu “to help them make more sustainable choices and we’re committed to doing just that”.

Reducing our environmental impact on the planet is a core focus of our overall strategy to help build sustainable communities and we have already made significant steps forward in this area.  

In other sustainability changes by major companies, Molson Coors in the UK and Ireland is removing the plastic packaging from its Carling and Coors Light brands.

The brewer is investing €8.1m over the next two years to remove the plastic film wrap from large multipacks by the end of March 2020, replacing the plastic wrap with 100% recyclable fully enclosed carton board.

By the end of March 2021, it will remove plastic rings from Carling and Coors Light cans, switching to 100% recyclable cardboard sleeves.