In an attempt to cut down plastic usage, Interspar Austria has announced that it will introduce paper bags, on a trial basis, for fruit and vegetable shopping in 11 outlets in Salzburg and Styria.
Thin plastic bags will also be available for customers during the test phase.
"Ideally, our customers naturally have a reusable bag with them for the purchase of loose fruits and vegetables, but we need another solution. For this purpose, we are testing paper bags instead of plastic bags for their practicability and acceptance among our customers," said Interspar Austria managing director Mag. Markus Kaser.
Lessons From Past Experiences
In 2014, the group experimented with brown paper bags in Vienna at its 'Spar Gourmet' outlets.
However, opaque bags proved to be inconvenient for cashiers, as they could not see the contents inside.
The new bags will be made of transparent parchment paper that is FSC certified, and can be disposed of organically.
Paper bags are more expensive than their plastic counterparts, but Kaser is of the opinion that the costs could be shared by the company and its customers.
"We bear part of the additional costs, but we also want to test whether the environmental concept is worth two cents per bag", he added.
In April of this year, Interspar Austria introduced reusable plastic bags for loose fruits and vegetables to battle plastic pollution.
Photo Courtesy: © SPAR/ Wildbild Guenter Freund
© 2018 European Supermarket Magazine – your source for the latest retail news. Article by Dayeeta Das. Click subscribe to sign up to ESM: European Supermarket Magazine.
