Huge change coming to Big W, following in Woolies footsteps

It’s a move recently announced by Coles and Woolworths, and now major department store Big W is following suit and ditching one item from stores.

Another major retailer is set to ditch plastic bags after Coles and Woolworths announced they were doing away with the soft bags.

Big W, which is also owned by the Woolworths group, announced that stores across the country are phasing out soft reusable plastic shopping bags in the name of sustainability.

This means that the 15 cent and 45 cent bags will be slowly removed from stock, meaning 480 tonnes of plastic will be removed from circulation every year.

The bags have already been removed from Western Australia, with Big W saying customers were responding well to the change as many were already bringing their own bags in when they shop.

Paper and reusable bags are still available.

Big W to ditch plastic bags. Picture: Foursquare

Dan Hake, managing director of Big W said: “At Big W, we believe every small change can make a big difference and this is an exciting next step in our sustainability journey. Saying goodbye to plastic shopping bags will remove over 480 tonnes of plastic out of circulation annually, helping to create a better tomorrow for future generations.

“Since we stopped giving away single-use plastic bags in 2018, we’ve seen an incredible effort from our customers to change the way they shop for the better by bringing their own bags.

Big W is following in the steps of Woolworths. Picture: Supplied

“We’d like to thank them for doing their bit for the environment and we’re looking forward to continuing to work together towards a more sustainable future.”

Single use plastic bags were removed from Big W in 2018, and replaced with the reusable plastic bags.

But, now, the only bags available will be made of 100 per cent recycled paper, independently certified to FSC standards and the new 99-cent reusable bag which is made from at least 70 per cent recycled content.

Big W has aimed to reduce plastic, with the department store ditching plastic on 350 products since 2021.

This has resulted in over 50 tonnes of plastic being removed from product packaging including in bedding, domestic appliances and Christmas decorations.

Coles and Woolworths have made similar announcements in recent weeks.