It seems slightly ironic that so much plastic is used buying healthy food like fruit and veg. In one way we are being good, provided we don’t waste what we buy, but on the other hand we use plastic bags every time we buy them. Another thing people may not be aware of is that in New Zealand we are able recycle soft plastic bags in some areas. I will put a link below for the areas that have soft plastic recycling bins in stores such as New World, The Warehouse and Countdown where you can take your soft plastics and these are sent off to Australia and made into things like Bollards, Park Benches and much more. Obviously the rule should always be that recycling should below the last resort, so I am pleased to report that I have noticed an increase in reusable produce bags for sale in some super markets. I have been using these for nearly 2 years and I am frequently asked where I got them and I now find it much easier to tell people that they are available right now in store, where before I had to tell people in a got them online, and I know a very small percentage would follow up on that once they have gotten home and unpacked their groceries and emptied their fruit and vegetables into the fridge, reusable produce bags will be far from their minds.
The other thing is bulk bags to replace the resealable bags used in the “pick and mix” section. You can purchase reusable bags for this that you can re-label as you need them. In addition to these I also reuse the resealable bags. I make it easy by writing the name of the product as well as the code. So that next time I can look at my list and grab the bags that I need and off I go. . Some people aren’t even aware of the alternative. Now it is so much easier. They eliminate the need for the soft plastic bags in the produce section. Some supermarkets even deduct a certain amount off to allow for the weight of the bag, if I’m honest the bag doesn’t weigh that much and it’s a small cost to pay to minimise waste. If your supermarket doesn’t do this then I would suggest that you ask them “why not?”
There are now petitions to eliminate the plastic bag all together which I think is a great initiative. It will force those who have now taken the small time and energy to make the change, and will stop the need to produce so many plastic bags which are a major hazard to the environment in both production and disposal.
So check out the interesting links below, if you have any questions about how things work where you are please feel free to email me and keep Being Green.
https://www.recycling.kiwi.nz/solutions/soft-plastics/store-locator/