Belgium's Colruyt Group has announced that it will launch reusable bags for fruit and vegetables in June of this year to reduce the use of plastic in the country.
Around 50 Colruyt stores will be a part of the pilot project, scheduled to be launched on 19 June. The group's organic supermarket chain, Bio-Planet, will lead the initiative by discontinuing disposable bags in all its outlets.
Select stores belonging to Colruyt Lowest Prices, OKay, OKay Compact and Spar Colruyt Group formats will also implement the initiative on the same day.
By the end of October 2019, all Colruyt food stores will replace disposable plastic bags with reusable bags.
Comfortable Shopping
Christophe Dehandschutter, sales manager of Colruyt Lowest Prices, said, "We firmly believe in the sale of unpacked fruit and vegetables. What matters is that the customer can choose and shop comfortably.
"With our customers' collaboration, the new bag will enable us to avoid about 150 million plastic bags a year."
The new bags, which can be used more than 100 times, have been specially developed by the retailer.
It is machine washable and can hold up to four kilograms in weight.
The bag's weight (37 grams) is automatically deducted at the checkout counters, so that customers only pay for the fruit and vegetables.
Motivating Customers
The retailer will also give five free reusable bags to Colruyt Xtra customers on their first purchase of fruit or vegetables in the 50 pilot stores.
The programme will be repeated during the national rollout in October, the company said.
"We have approximately 4.5 million Xtra customers today and we have more than 600 food stores in our group. So this is a significant joint action with a great positive impact on the environment," Marc Hofman, Colruyt Group COO Retail added.
© 2019 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: The European Supermarket Magazine.
