Countdown Waiheke is now plastic shopping bag free

24 May 2016: Countdown removed all plastic shopping bags from its Waiheke store in support of the island's goal to be plastic bag free from yesterday.

Customers are encouraged to bring their own reusable bags to pack their groceries in, or for those customers who forget to bring their own bags, Countdown has reusable bags and new compostable bags available for purchase in-store.

Countdown Waiheke Store Manager, Dave Collo and his team have been working hard to get ready for the change.

“The removal of plastic shopping bags from our store has been an exciting journey for us, and it was great to hear what our customers thought about it. There will be an adjustment period as customers get into the habit of remembering their own bags, but we know this is something the island is excited about and will get behind,” says Mr Collo.

Deb Lyttle, founder of BYO Bag Waiheke Island is elated by the appreciative reaction on Waiheke.

“BYO Bag Waiheke is all about educating the community and our island visitors to recognise how each person can make a difference by taking plastic bags out of circulation.

“It is simply a matter of remembering to bring reusable bags when shopping. Many of our smaller shops have been celebrated as ‘Local Heroes’ by offering environmentally-friendly bags and it's fantastic that a business as large as Countdown has come on board. It’s a lot of work behind the scenes and we appreciate their support,” she says.

ENDS

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