More supermarkets stop giving away plastic and paper bags for fruits & vegetables

Supermarket chains Lidl, Jumbo, Plus and Aldi will stop offering free plastic and paper disposable bags for fruits and vegetables this year. Customers who do not bring a bag with them can instead purchase reusable bags that they can wash at home.

The supermarkets agreed to the change this with the government, and companies that agreed to participate in Plastic Pact NL, including plastics sector businesses. Albert Heijn already banned disposable bags last year.

The retail chains want to reduce the use of plastic and normalize the use of reusable bags. “The consumer has to get used to it as quickly as possible. That is why it is important that as many supermarket chains participate as possible,” said Carlijn Röell, the head of the Plastic Pact NL.

With this measure, the five expect to save around 126 million plastic bags and 10 million paper bags each year. All five companies also participate in Plastic Pact NL, which includes a total of 82 businesses pledging to reduce consumer use of plastics.

State Secretary Vivianne Heijnen for environment policy is among those calling on other supermarkets to stop using disposable bags. If consumers throw away a more limited number of plastic bags, there is naturally less plastic waste to process, she said. “That’s why I embrace this initiative of Dutch supermarkets.”