Spanish supermarket chain Eroski has announced that it is to introduce several alternatives to single-use plastic bags.
Among the new options available to customers are compostable bags, 100%-recycled paper bags and reusable bags, whose raw material will be comprised of at least 50% recycled plastic. Eroski says that it will also continue to sell reusable cloth bags, with the proceeds going to various charities.
Sustainable Pioneer
Alejandro Martínez Berriochoa, director of health and sustainability at Eroski, said that this latest announcement was on top of the company already being a pioneer in promoting sustainable products and finding ways to commercialise them.
The company previously introduced a number of packaging alternatives, such as durable membrane bags recycled from animal waste, made by Mexican company Sistema.
Legislative Changes
The adoption of more sustainable packaging methods at Eroski mirrors both the growing awareness about single-use plastics and the forthcoming changes to legislation.
A few weeks ago, the EU Commission announced that it was proposing new legislation to ban several single-use plastic products.
European Commission first vice-president Frans Timmermans, responsible for sustainable development, said, "We will ban some of these items and substitute them with cleaner alternatives, so people can still use their favourite products."
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Matthieu Chassain. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
