Australian customers slam supermarket over excess fruit packaging after bag ban 

• Customers use social media to slam supermarkets over fruit plastic packaging
• Products including fruit and vegetables still come in plastic containers 
• Questions arose whether the packaging aimed to maximize supermarket profit 
• People have also complained about the amount of plastic used in online orders  
• Woolworths have been offering complementary reusable bags to offset anger

By Alex Chapman For Daily Mail Australia

Published: 04:11 BST, 2 July 2018 | Updated: 04:27 BST, 2 July 2018

The plastic bag ban hasn’t gone as smoothly as major supermarkets might have liked, with angry customers turning to social media to slam supermarket giant Woolworths.

The most recent thread of complaints centre around plastic packaging that still exists in the store, namely on fruit and vegetable products.

An image showing a shelf with rows of bananas in plastic containers has been uploaded to Reddit under the caption ‘Well done on getting rid of plastic bags Woolworths’.

‘Well done on getting rid of plastic bags Woolworths’: Customers turn to social media to vent to supermarket chains

‘Bananas now need packaging it seems,’ a bemused shopper posted online

While one user said: ‘Its about reducing theft at self check outs… if its tagged then it needs to be scanned’, another questioned why the bananas need packaging at all, given they already have a peel.

It isn’t the first time customers have expressed their discontent over the plastic bag ban.

Some have claimed on social media the move has little to do with the environment and more to do with the supermarkets maximizing profits.

A Reddit user commented: ‘That’s because if you leave them as is people will only take the amount of bananas they want. This way if they come in packs of 5 and if you need 6 you have to buy 10.’  

Disgruntled shoppers have also taken issue with the amount of plastic in their online shopping deliveries, demanding to know why their fruit and vegetables need to be double-bagged and then put inside of crates.

Facebook user Erin Baker said she didn’t mind paying extra for the new reusable bags but seeing the extra plastic packaging in her order was ‘laughable’.

‘I reckon I got more plastic bags in this shop that I’ve ever got before,’ she posted to Facebook.

The shopper demanded to know why fruit and vegetables needed to be bagged 

Woolworths responded by saying bags are still needed in some cases ‘due to food safety reasons’

Woolworths responded to one woman’s complaint, saying: ‘Some products, such as produce, chilled and frozen items will still be packed into bags due to food safety reasons.’

The supermarket chain phased out single-use plastic bags on June 20 but still offers recycled plastic bags for online orders at $1 per order.

Complimentary bags are being offered in store until July 8.  

 

Some shoppers using the online delivery service have called Woolworths use of extra plastic packaging ‘laughable’ 

 

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