New Woolworths at Ascot as seen First on Nine News 
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How fucking stupid.
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Iāve noticed that the bags are actually much more convenient and easy to handle than the old single use plastic bags. You can pack a hell of a lot more in them, too. Whereas Iād previously end up needing to use 3 or 4 bags, I now only need 1 bag.
Itās probably ended up costing the supermarkets about the same as ever to supply the thicker bags, so Coles are sticking with this free bag thing because itāll give them a competitive advantage, and it wonāt cost them anything.
Itās like that abominable commercial one-ply greaseproof toilet paper you find in most public toilets to save money. You end up having to use a whole roll to get moderately clean, whereas with two-ply youāll be finished after using a quarter of the roll. The council or business paying for the toilet doesnāt realise theyāre spending more by using that awful commercial toilet paper over the 2 ply stuff.
It probably got to a ātipping pointā in regards to the amount of abuse staff have been getting about the ban that Coles think reversing it temporarily (doubt theyāre going to be giving away the new bags in perpetuity) is needed
Personally I prefer the smaller āsingle useā bags for when I only want to get 2 or 3 things as I can fit those in my jeans pocket for when I walk there. I still have a few in my cupboard.
If I want to get more than a few things, Iāll take green bags as things are less likely to get squashed in those because of the plastic base.
The newer reusable bags are neither for me.
Technically Coles is now damaging the environment more now than they were a month ago when they used the thinner grey plastic bags. The publicity is going to be mostly negative, including the current story leading smh.com.au on a customerās (journalistās) decision to no longer shop at Coles.
Some of the anger at the checkout is from the Alan Jones - Andrew Bolt duo of hate as they have been claiming that the green mafia are behind the decision to ban the grey bags and that now our way of life is threatened. This easily translates to anger at the checkouts.
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Iād argue Coles care about staff getting abused but they care about the bottom line more. Giving away bags might lose them 15 cents each for a time but their gamble is that more people will shop with them so they donāt have to pay for bags.
Meanwhile, the environment (and everyone on Earth) ultimately loses.
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Public access toilet paper is interesting. Bottom line is they need to make it as unstealable as possible. Put decent dunny paper out, donāt expect it to last long in public notices matter how well off your clientele are. L
At least with the grey bags you could not tell if it was Coles, Woolworths or IGA that were damaging the environment. Coles now has their logo over all the bags that will be picked out of rivers and oceans for the next 500 years.
Two things can survive a nuclear war - cockroaches and Coles branded shopping bags. These things could be washing up on beaches in the year 2600.
At least Coles can get some exposure at the next Clean Up Australia Day. And the one after. And the one after.
āBad things are happening at Colesā
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I think you overestimate the publicās ability to manage their time. Plenty of people are forgetting their bags. Itās a hot topic at work as we have just introduced them in the last week and I like to get customerās opinions on it. Itās going to take time to break habits like these and Coles is doing no one any favours by giving up.
Iāve remembered to bring bags twice in the last month since the ban was introduced and I usually visit a shop every 2 to 3 days. Iām starting to keep bags in my glove box now, but already Iāve brought shopping in and forgotten to take the empty bags back out to the car or with me the next day. Not everyone is loyal to a supermarket or has a specific shopping routine they follow. People out there shop at random times at random places for incomplete top ups and impulse buys. Itās how convenience retail survives.
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Yeah itās easy to forget bags. Obviously if you are home and know that you are going to do a big shop there is no reason to forget them. However there are those occasions when you are out on the fly and decide to grab a few things and are then left short. Sometimes I will walk down to the shops on my lunch break at work and decide to buy a few things and then realise I wonāt be able to carry it back without purchasing one. So a couple of times Iāve ducked into Chemist Warehouse and got a couple of things so Iād then have a bag to put my few groceries in as well. Iām sure in time we will get used to it if they get rid of plastic bags completely but habits can take a while to change and get used too.
I do prefer those new bigger bags as you definitely fit more in them and I have been reusing them when I can. Especially at my apartment carrying 8 or so bags previously was tough getting ot the lift and upstairs with them, which is now 3 or 4 bags max so makes life easier.
I think some sort of bag should always be available to shoppers in instances when you get caught out. However I agree they should be charging 15-20cents for them because it at least makes you think a bit more about it, are more likely to think ahead and are less likely to rely on them. Itās still better for the environment even if not ideal.
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Coles flip flops. Now there is an end date: 30 August 2018. You will need to pay 15c after that date.
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Theyāve really gone into damage control at the moment, what a PR disaster for Coles, especially with complaints of creating more plastic for the Little Shop collectablesā¦
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You really have to wonder why they didnāt originally just extend the period slightly, if they wanted to appease some cranky customers.
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I still donāt get why itās so hard. You learn to carry things if itās a few items. Itās amazing how much you can carry if you really want to avoid buying a bag. Otherwise, you buy a bag. In the five years since it came into effect Iād have only spent an extra couple of dollars on bags if that when I go to get a few items here and there regularly.
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Kaufland has reportedly purchased the old Bunnings site at Burleigh as part of its move into Australia.
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Thereās one in Orange of Central West NSW if they want another old Bunnings!
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Thereās a issue with that - itās in Orange. Not Sydney.
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Coke No Sugar with Orange gets one of theseā¦
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hmm, youre the first person Iāve seen with a positive reviewā¦
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