The Dutch supermarket chain Albert Heijn will remove the rolls of single-use plastic bags for fruits and vegetables from its stores by the end of the year.
During the two weeks following April 19, all AH customers will receive a reusable nylon bag for free if they purchase fruits or vegetables that have to be weighed. After those two weeks, customers will have to pay 30 cents per bag.
Removing single-use plastic bags from Albert Heijn stores will save 243,000 kilograms of plastic per year. This equals approximately 130 million bags. Customers will be informed about this by AH’s fruit and vegetable department from mid-April, reports the NOS.
A small step for Albert Heijn
If you feel like doing a little celebration dance or saluting the supermarket for finally doing something good for the planet, let us stop you right there.
While single-use plastic bags from the roll are finally being removed, Albert Heijn is dragging its feet on removing shrink-wrapped carrots, peppers, and aubergines across all its stores. This one small step for Albert Heijn is, thus unfortunately not one giant leap for mankind.
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What do you think? Should Dutch supermarkets do more to tackle plastic soup? Tell us your thoughts in the comments!
Feature Image: Anna Shvets/Pexels
