Coles Will Keep Giving Out Reuseable Bags for Free Because Shoppers Still Don’t Get It

Yeah, that’s not how "reusable" works.

Update (02/08/18): Well, they changed their minds again. Coles has today set a deadline of Wednesday 29 August. After that point, no more free reusable bags. The original story follows.

Coles has decided to hand out their reusable plastic bags for free to customers, despite having previously pledged to phase out single-use bags from 1 July, the ABC reports.

Their reasoning? Apparently, shoppers “need more time to make the transition to reusable bags”, according to a spokesperson.

The big, obvious problem here is that the thicker, reusable "better bags"—which previously cost 15c a pop—are worse for the environment, because they take even longer to break down.

And, of course, by handing these bags out to customers for free "indefinitely", Coles isn’t exactly training shoppers to reuse bags and limit the amount of plastic being distributed.

I reckon there would be a faaaairly strong crossover between those complaining about paying 15c for a bag if they forgot theirs, and those upset at the idea of not being able to negatively gear five investment properties.#Coles

— Ivana Kovac Kuti (@IKKsays) August 1, 2018

But seriously, who are all these shoppers ~struggling~ with reusable bags? JUST KEEP ONE BY THE DOOR LINDA, IT'S NOT HARD. #Coles

— Gavin Fernando (@GavinDFernando) July 31, 2018

A report by the NSW Environmental Protection Agency revealed that reusable bags must be used at least four times to make less of an impact on the environment than their single-use counterparts.

With the exception of New South Wales, every state and territory has either banned single-use plastic bans, or is in the process of banning them. (We’re looking at you, Victoria.) Queensland and Western Australia were the latest states to get on board, beginning last month.

Woolworths estimates 3.2 billion plastic bags are handed to shoppers every year and one per cent of them (approximately 32 million) end up in the environment.

Header Image: iStock.com/Kokkai Ng