Woolworths has been slammed for selling packaged apples in plastic just weeks before the company’s ban on plastic bags.
The supermarket giant will stop providing plastic bags to shoppers throughout Australia on June 20, removing 3.2 billion bags from circulation.
But shoppers were quick to point out the national supermarket chain’s unnecessary use of plastic to package some of its other products.
An image posted to Reddit showing sliced apples wrapped in plastic packaging was met with fury from users who considered the move at odds with the bag ban.
‘Spotted this new item tonight, 300g of apple wrapped in about 70g of plastic,’ the user posted online.
Woolworths has been slammed for selling packaged apples in plastic just weeks before the company’s ban on plastic bags
The post received more than 9,000 reactions and was commented on almost 800 times in less than one day.
While some comments were critical of the company, others defended the grocery outlet.
‘They call themselves the ‘Fresh Food People’. Is fresh the name of the plastic bag company?’ one person said.
‘Consumers don’t care. They want the cheapest,’ another user commented.
The supermarket giant will stop providing plastic bags to shoppers throughout Australia on June 20
A Woolworths spokesperson recognised more work needs to be done but said the move to phase out single-use shopping bags was a ‘big step forward’.
He said the company has permanently removed plastic wrapping from avocado, organic spring onions, celery, kale and English spinach.
‘These moves will help save more than 37 tonnes of plastic packaging on a yearly basis and we have plans to do even more throughout 2018,’ the spokesperson said in a statement.
‘We’re also working to roll out convenient plastic recycling options for our customers in all supermarkets across the country by the end of June in partnership with the REDcycle program.
‘Woolworths was the first supermarket to commit to rolling out the Australasian Recycling Label across its range of Own Brand products.’
A Woolworths spokesperson said the company has permanently removed plastic wrapping from avocado, organic spring onions, celery, kale and English spinach