Retail giant Coles will stop selling single-use plastic cutlery and tableware from July in a bid to cut waste.
The move is predicted to remove 1.5 million kilograms of single-use plastic from landfill every year.
Plastic products including cups, plates, bowls, straws and cutlery will be banished from Coles shelves under the plan.
Coles CEO Steven Cain said the move helped the environment and also responded to customers’ needs.
“Ensuring the sustainability of our business is essential to our future success, and being the first major Australian supermarket to commit to removing all single-use plastic tableware from our stores is central to our ambition to be Australia’s most sustainable supermarket,” Mr Cain said.
Clean Up Australia chairman Pip Kiernan said single-use plastic tableware was a big problem for the environment.
“Too many of these items end up in our parks, waterways, beaches and roadsides and, if left there, damage our precious environment for hundreds of years, outliving all of us.”
“We applaud Coles for listening to their customers and taking the lead in replacing these single-use plastic items.”
Assistant Minister for Waste Reduction and Environmental Management Trevor Evans welcomed the move.
“Every company that takes action to reduce problematic or unnecessary plastics takes us one step closer towards a more sustainable Australia and is a win for our environment,” he said.
Coles stores will phase out the products by July 1.
Its South Australian stores will phase out products by March 1, in line with state law.
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