Woolworths reusable plastic bags to be ditched in SA and NT stores

South Australian shoppers will no longer be packing their groceries in plastic with the supermarket phasing out the bags from today.

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Supermarket giant Woolworths will be phasing out plastic bags across its South Australian stores from Wednesday in a bid to go greener.

Over coming weeks, the supermarket will run down stock of its 15 cent reusable plastic shopping bags across SA and the Northern Territory.

Woolworths said it would work with Adelaide-based manufacturer Detpak to increase manufacturing capacity for its 20 cent paper bags, which will remain in store, with 25 new jobs created for the family-owned business.

Its 99 cent green bags will also remain available to customers.

Single-use plastic bags were outlawed in SA in 2009, with other jurisdictions following suit in 2018.

The move comes after Western Australia announced a ban on heavyweight plastic bags from July 2022, forcing the supermarket giant to scrap them from WA stores.

SA Assistant State General Manager Elisha Moore said ditching the plastic in SA and the NT would save more than 916 tonnes of plastic from circulation annually.

Woolworths will phase out its 15 cent bags in SA stores over coming weeks. Picture: AAP Image/Joel Carrett

An SA Detpak employee with the Woolworths 'Made in Aus' 20c paper bags. Picture: Supplied.

“South Australia has always been a leader in sustainability and has championed the move away from single use plastic,” Ms Moore said.

“We hope our customers here will embrace this latest change with their usual eagerness to do good for the environment.”

Ms Moore said customers would be notified via email, advertising and in-store signs and acknowledged the move would be “an adjustment” for customers.

SA has been home to a number of Woolworths’ sustainability firsts, including compostable fruit and vegetable bags and a push for sites to be powered by green electricity.

The reusable plastic bags will be phased out in other states and territories over coming months, with a view to remove the bags entirely nationwide by the end of June 2023.