Grocers and Biodegradable bags!

Every State in Australia should be doing this - It should be the law of the land!

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I wouldn’t be worried so much about the type of plastic your using. Eliminating the use of that plastic is a far more effective solution.

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Woollies, Coles and Aldi all have a plastic bag recycling bin, usually near to the front of the store and you can recycle any of the soft plastics incl biscuit wrappers, chip packets and any wrap that you cannot avoid like the plastic bags that you food comes in like rice, grains and beans etc and any frozen foods, as long as it is clean.
And as already said DON’T put the IGA biodegradable bags in with the others as the “pollute” the mix!!

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That’s great. ALL supermarkets, actually all retailers, should be using biodegradable bags. Especially Coles and Woolworths.

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All retailers should stop supplying single-use bags, period.

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A post was split to a new topic: Which plastic bags can be recycled?

I have gone plastic free for my produce and pantry. Pantry through BYO containers at my local bulk bin shop and produce by using reusable produce bags. I have mine from Onya, https://www.onyalife.com/product/reusable-produce-bag-8pack/. Love them. If I had the skill, I’d make my own, but these have worked fantastic. It’s amazing how much I have cut my waste and “recycling” with very little effort.

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Always great to see stores giving the greener bags a go. Also, if your store isn’t offering greener alternatives, just ask :blush:

I’ve heard that Palm Oil is one of the main products used in biodegradable plastics. Is that correct? It has put me off buying/using them as I believe this creates a whole new set of problems that may be just as bad, if not worse. Biodegradable plastic is not recyclable, as far as I know. Please correct me if I’m wrong.

I try to avoid using plastic bags as much as possible. Any plastic shopping bags I have are put in the recycle bins at the supermarket if at all possible. I have recently found out that you can include any ‘scrungable’ plastics such as wrappings and trays from biscuits packaging.

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Hi @fem, I’m not entirely sure on the processes of making and disposing of degradable bags.

I can confirm, however, that many ‘scrunchable’ plastics are recyclable in the REDcycle bins found at many supermarkets. This includes any soft plastic food packaging from frozen foods, confectionery items (yes, even chocolate wrappers that look like foil), and even those soft biscuit trays!

Good on you for trying to reduce your plastic consumption, as this is the best method of sustainability - not simply switching to degradable bags.

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Regarding your question on palm oil in plastic bags, you would need to check this out on a case-by-case basis. It’s common for all types of plastic bags to contain ‘slip’ agents, which are derived from fatty acids that could be of animal or vegetable origin. Some manufacturers make this information available on their websites, and some bio-degradable bag manufacturers claim to be ‘palm-oil free’ while others do not specify.

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I trust the following link will be helpful to understand the plastics.

http://green-plastics.net/posts/85/the-difference-between-degradable-biodegradable-and-compostable/

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All my soft plastics go back to Coles … they sell it over packaged … they can sort it!

We have some great whole foods shops - take your own container & you weigh it before filling. No more plastic bags or putting into paper bags to take home & fill the container. We also use easiyo yogurt which reduces packaging and put into little tubs or reuse able pouches for kids lunches

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I use the Source for all my bulk food items and some cleaning products like hand wash as well.


You can bring whatever you like to take your food home in- plastic or glass containers, or use their paper bags. You can refill any of your plastic ontainers for handwash, detergent, shampoo etc as long as they are of an identifiable capacity.

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Hi @email1, you can choose not to shop (or at least buy) over-packaged products. The planet will thank you!

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Biodegradable bags are really only a stop gap measure I think until we all bring our own reusable bags with us when we do our shopping at the super markets for a much better environmental outcome .

However, @stokescolin21, I think that not supplying disposable bags, or at lease charging for them, is a more effective stopgap measure for transitioning to reusable bags.

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Yes, I’ve been known to wash & re-use those bags too!

These recycling bins are only at selected stores though, be nice if they were at all stores!

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