Co-op is removing plastic 'bags for life' from sale as many shoppers are using them 'just once'

Fri, 30 Apr 2021

The Co-op is to become the latest supermarket to remove plastic "bags for life" from sale in all of its stores.

The bags will start to disappear from the chain's Island stores from today.

It is part of an effort to remove 29.5 million bags for life - or 870 tonnes of plastic - from sale each year.

Jo Whitfield, chief executive of Co-op Food, said: "Increased use of bags for life has led to a sharp rise in plastic use.

"With over 1.5 billion bags sold each year by retailers, this remains a massive issue for our industry as many shoppers are regularly buying so-called bags for life to use just once and it's leading to a major hike in the amount of plastic being produced."