Shopper fumes over individually-wrapped cucumbers at Woolworths

Woolworths has defended its ongoing plastic-wrapping of continental cucumbers and revealed why it does it.

Woolworths has responded to criticism of its ongoing plastic-wrapping of continental cucumbers and other fresh produce.

Nine Newspapers National Affairs Editor James Massola drew attention to the situation in a tweet on Saturday, commending the ACT government’s “terrific decision” to ban plastic bags.

“But the decision by @woolworths to individually plastic-wrap cucumbers (and some other vegetables) defeat the purpose of a plastic ban,” Massola continued.

“Also, why on earth do cucumbers need to be wrapped?”

I think the ACT government’s plastic bag ban was a terrific decision. But the decision by @woolworths to individually plastic-wrap cucumbers (and some other vegetables) defeats the purpose of a plastic ban. Also, why on earth do cucumbers need to be wrapped? pic.twitter.com/YP4nxxQYsY

— James Massola (@jamesmassola) June 3, 2023

Reaction to Massola’s gripe was split – with some agreeing “supermarkets don’t need to wrap fruit & vegetables in plastics”, writing, “It’s just not good enough.”

“Agreed. Here we are trying to reduce the volume of plastics in our life and our environment and they make it unavoidable!” another replied.

But others rightly pointed out that, at least in the case of continental cucumbers, the individual shrink-wrapping is actually necessary to reducing (food) waste.

Due to the vegetable’s thin skin, naked cucumbers dehydrate quickly, become limp, and are vulnerable to damage during the journey from the greenhouse to your fridge. The plastic film, therefore, acts as a second skin – and can extend a cucumber’s shelf-life by almost a full week.

‘They last dramatically longer wrapped. So it actually reduces waste.’ Picture: AFP Photo/Justin Tallis

“I used to question this too. However in this particular case it does have a purpose – it approx doubles the life of the cucumber,” one person wrote.

“The need for supermarkets to own the soft & hard [plastic] problem remains.”

A second commented: “They last dramatically longer wrapped. So it actually reduces waste.”

“I’m not suggesting this [is] a great solution (although it significantly improves shelf life), but to suggest that it’s a Woolies thing is disingenuous,” said a third.

“I’ve seen them wrapped this way in the US, Switzerland and France, and that’s just my personal experience.”

Hey @Coles, stop putting everything in plastic. We managed for decades will apples, potatos and lettuce off the shelf. Stop creating unnecessary waste. pic.twitter.com/xPcC0otI1x

— C r 🇸 t Õ½ a r t 🇯 a m e Ñ• (@CrStuartJames) April 22, 2023

Continental cucumbers are individually shrink-wrapped at the bulk of Australian grocers.

A Woolworths spokesperson told news.com.au that, “while removing plastic is always our first preference, in some cases it’s a balancing act where we also need to carefully consider food waste”.

“We’re working to make grocery shopping more sustainable and we’re always looking to understand what changes can deliver the most benefit for the environment,” they added.

“Some fresh produce items in Woolworths’ range are packaged to help extend shelf life and reduce food waste. For example, a continental cucumber wrapped in plastic lasts three times longer than one that isn’t.”

The supermarket giant has set a range of targets to improve the sustainability of its own brand packaging.

A Woolworths spokesperson said the supermarket giant is ‘always looking to understand what changes can deliver the most benefit for the environment’. Picture: NCA NewsWire/David Crosling

It comes amid a recent push from all Australian supermarkets to make checking out more sustainable – last week Aldi became the latest to introduce 25c paper bags for consumers, the next step in its efforts to reduce plastic.

The move followed similar announcements by Coles and Woolworhts – with the latter phasing out reusable plastic bags in NSW, Victoria and Tasmania in a bid to stop selling them across Australia this month.

The process began last year in South Australia and the Northern Territory, before expanding to the ACT and Queensland.

Woolworths Supermarkets director of stores, Jeanette Fenske, said in April the supermarket was “excited” to “complete our national journey to remove the 15-cent plastic shopping bags from all our stores nationwide”.

“Having reusable bags on hand has become second nature for many shoppers, and so far we have seen our customers embrace this change with their usual eagerness to do good for the environment,” Ms Fenske said.

“We’re proud to be the first major supermarket to commit to removing these plastic shopping bags from our stores, and this change is an important step towards most sustainable grocery shopping across the country.”