Online grocery shoppers at Woolworths charged up to $3.50 for grocery deliveries

ONLINE shoppers who get their groceries delivered will face hefty charges from next week when the dumping of single-use plastic bags begins in many states.

SOME grocery shoppers will be slugged hefty charges of up to $3.50 from next week when the dumping of single-use plastic bags begins.

Woolworths is the first big supermarket to remove grey plastic bags from all their stores next Wednesday and shoppers who are not armed with their own bags will be charged extra at the checkout if they require them.

But a much higher charge applies to online shoppers who opt to have their groceries delivered in a crate — this new service by Woolworths will cost $3.50 per delivery to a customer’s benchtop.

Woolworths customers will be charged $3.50 per online delivery order if they have their groceries delivered in a crate.

There’s no way for Woolworths online shoppers to avoid extra costs for online deliveries — the only other alternative is to have groceries delivered in reusable bags at an additional $1 per delivery.

A Woolworths spokesman said the cost for “crate to bench option reflects the additional costs of providing this new service.”

“With the new crate to bench service, orders are packed directly into our delivery crates, and then unpacked on to a customer’s bench by a delivery driver when they arrive.”

Customers instore can purchase reusable bags for 15 cents or foldable bags for 99 cents.

Previously shoppers had their deliveries arrive in free single-use plastic bags.

Plastic bags are being removed in Victoria, NSW, Qld and WA to fall in line with other locations including SA, NT, ACT and Tasmania.

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The move by the big two supermarkets to dump plastic bags is to reduce the environmental impact of using single-use bags.

Single-use plastic bags are being phased out in supermarkets in the coming weeks in Victoria, NSW, Queensland and Western Australia.

Concerns have remained around the use of single-use plastic bags because they are not biodegradable and can have detrimental impacts on marine wildlife and birds.

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Rival supermarket Coles will take longer to dump them, removing them from all stores nationally from July 1.

From then customers arriving at stores without bags in tow will be charged 15c per reusable plastic bag if they need them or they can buy other durable multi-use bags from $1.

Grocery shoppers will need to come armed with their plastic bags from June 20 in Woolworths stores in Victoria, NSW, Qld and WA or they will have to buy bags.

For online deliveries Coles’ general manager of online Karen Donaldson said, “Coles online’s new bagless delivery option, which uses reusable crates will not incur any additional charge to Coles customers outside of the current delivery fee.

“Groceries will be unpacked in the customer’s home and crates will return with the delivery driver.”

There is another option for customers to be charged 15c per reusable bag if they opt to have their groceries delivered in bags.

Just last week News Corp revealed some Coles items are 10 per cent higher if ordered online instead of instore.

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