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Reuters

Australia’s second-largest supermarket, Coles, on Wednesday halted plans to charge shoppers for plastic bags, succumbing to customer fury about a shift away from single-use plastics.
Coles, owned by Wesfarmers, and its larger rival Woolworths Group Ltd removed one-use plastic bags from stores late in June as part of a national push to reduce waste, selling reusable ones for a small fee instead.
It drew a furious response, dubbed “bag rage,” as customers angry about having to bring their own sacks or pay 15 Australian cents (11 US cents) for a reusable plastic bag abused checkout staff and vented on social media.
In Hong Kong, there is HK$0.50 plastic bag levy.
The union representing store workers launched a public campaign on the issue and both grocers capitulated, temporarily waiving the fee.
Coles, which had initially planned to reintroduce the fee on July 12, never levied it and has now extended the waiver indefinitely.


“Some customers told us they needed more time to make the transition to reusable bags,” the company said in a statement.
“Many customers bringing bags from home are still finding themselves short a bag or two so we are offering complimentary reusable (bags) to help them complete their shopping,” it said.
The waiver was “still intended to be an interim measure,” Coles said, but gave no date for the resumption of the fee, saying only it will “assess when customers have become accustomed to bringing their own bags.”
Woolworths has levied 15c per bag since July 8.
The backflip comes while Coles is under immense pressure to lure customers, as its sales growth lags Woolworths just as Wesfarmers prepares to spin it out and list it separately.
“It’s all a part of lifting their customer satisfaction and getting more customers in the door,” said James Tao, a market analyst at stockbroker Commonwealth Securities in Sydney.
The cost of the move would probably have a negligible financial impact, he added.
“It’s more about the PR side.”
However that also appeared to backfire as Coles was lampooned online.
“Coles’ colossal plastic bag fail” and “Coles caves” ran headlines on Australia’s main news sites.
Major retailers in all but two Australian states face fines if they supply single-use plastic bags.
The UN wants to eliminate single-use plastic by 2022 and says more than 60 countries have so far taken steps to ban or reduce plastic consumption.


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Australia

‘Bag rage’ prompts supermarket backdown on plastic bag charge in Australia

A shopper carries bags at a Coles Sydney central business district store. Photo: EPA

Supermarket staff suffer customer ‘bag rage’ as Australia imposes plastic ban

Dozens of supermarket staff suffer abuse as two major Australian grocery chains struggled to impose a ban on single-use plastic bags

A shopper selects items inside a plastic bag-free Woolworths supermarket in Sydney, Australia, June 15, 2018. REUTERS/Jill Gralow

A sign, seen in a Coles supermarket, advises its customers of its plastic bag free in Sydney on July 2, 2018. One irate customer put his hands round a shop assistant's throat and dozens of other staff have been abused as Australian retailers struggled to impose a ban on single-use plastic bags after a survey by the Shop, Distributive and Allied Employees' Association -- the union that represents shop assistants announced July 2, 2018. / AFP PHOTO / Peter PARKS

The removal of single-use plastics is part of a national push to reduce waste. Photo: Reuters

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Asia

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Grocery chain backflip comes after angry customers abused checkout staff and vented on social media


‘Bag rage’ prompts supermarket backdown on plastic bag charge in Australia

.css-1c6uqr6{color:inherit;font-weight:inherit;font-size:inherit;font-family:inherit;line-height:inherit;overflow-wrap:break-word;}Grocery chain backflip comes after angry customers abused checkout staff and vented on social media

Grocery chain backflip comes after angry customers abused checkout staff and vented on social media