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The one-day trial, to be held in his V & A Waterfront store in Cape Town, will evaluate customer reaction, which will inform industry discussions on alternatives to plastic bags . fruit and vegetable bags with compostable bags made from starches, cellulose, vegetable oils and combinations. The "non-plastic" transport bags were delivered to customers free of charge the same day.
Cardboard boxes were also tested with customers – at Rupees 5 per box – as another alternative to plastic bags. Pick * Pay president Gareth Ackerman said at the launch of the initiative that "a lot of progress has been made since 2003 to encourage customers to abandon single-use plastic bags, but much remains to be done. ".
"Durable solutions require all parties involved – retailers, government, plastics manufacturers, consumers and recyclers – to work together – and far beyond plastic bags for all forms of waste. allowed us to process four to five tonnes of food waste per day through our partnership with Waste to Food.
"We donated 2,000 tons of surplus edible food each year to FoodForward.
" Since 2003, we have offered alternatives to plastic bags and created jobs in co-ops. suburbs. We also went beyond recycling programs in metropolitan areas through, for example, our Phahama Recycling project at Diepsloot. In June, we announced a wide range of initiatives to reduce the use of plastic in our stores.
"But the truth is that without well-defined waste management plans and without investments in government infrastructure, we will never, ourselves as retailers, be able to make a lasting impact. .
"In simple terms, the government needs to step up its commitment to recycling and waste management.
"The tax on plastic bags was introduced in 2003 for consumers to think more carefully about their use. The funds generated by this tax have not improved the environment and created jobs, as promised at the time.
"These funds need to be used wisely – not as a tax collection mechanism, but as a fully funded program to have a real impact on the environment and create much-needed jobs. looking forward to the completion of the industry's waste management plans as requested by the government to better understand the roles of all parties involved in the waste industry, "he said .
"We hope that it will address structural problems such as waste collection and recycling services in our townships."
"There is also very little large-scale composting of food waste to prevent They are only dumped. It's a challenge for us all: South African consumers are concerned about waste and are looking for solutions from everyone involved.
We must work together to find them, "added Ackerman
. At launch, Suzanne Ackerman-Berman, Processing Manager at Pick * Pay, said, "The bags being tested at our customers are solid and can be reused, similar to normal plastic bags." The important difference is that these test bags are also compostable at home.
"They are designed to collect organic waste, such as kitchen waste, and compost with organic waste in a domestic composting environment. The bag will decompose after three to six months – depending on the composting system – compared to the 500 to 1000 years reported for plastic bags.Customers can also bring the bags back to our stores and we will take them to a composting center. " , said Ackerman-Berman
While home-made composable bags have been deployed in Europe, North America and Australia and exclusively at retailers in Italy, it is the first time consumers can try the option.
Pick * Pay is committed last month to removing all plastic straws from the crates and making only paper flakes at their cold drink kiosks.
Pick * Pay will reduce its impact on packaging with more recycled materials in more of its own brand categories, and already provides free plastic collection to its online customers. It will introduce 100% recyclable plastic bags in stores from the month of August.
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