Woolworths and Coles are adopting new strategies to combat plastic bag usage as a new report reveals about two-thirds of the rubbish cleaned from the environment last year was plastic, representing an almost 20 per cent increase.

Clean Up Australia’s 2022 National Rubbish Report, a snapshot of the types of waste contaminating ecosystems nationwide, said of the 366,144 pieces of rubbish picked up by the organisation’s volunteers, 63 per cent was plastic of some sort.

Clean Up Australia report

The Clean Up Australia report says the rise in plastic has been driven by soft plastic, hard plastic and polystyrene. The increase was a serious concern, Clean Up Australia chairperson Pip Kiernan said.

Ms Kiernan said the pandemic seemed to have undone some of the good habits people had adopted, like using refillable water bottles and coffee cups.

It was time for Australians to revert to good daily habits to reduce plastic and other waste streams, she said.

“We often say we don’t want a few people doing zero waste perfectly,” she said.

“We want millions of people doing it imperfectly because collectively that can have a big impact.

“It has a massive impact, as does voting with your wallet and rewarding brands that are using recycled content, or doing their packaging more responsibly. Don’t underestimate the power of individual action. We can continue to move the dial.”

There was a 7 per cent increase in soft plastics found in 2022 as opposed to 2021, while hard plastic found rose by 5 per cent. Polystyrene also increased by 5 per cent.

But there were fewer paper (7 per cent), metals (5 per cent) and glass (2 per cent) items.

Soft plastics made up 25 per cent of plastics found while hard plastics made up 27 per cent.

Woolworths phase out reusable plastic bags

Meanwhile, Woolworths stores in Queensland and the ACT have started phasing out 15-cent reusable plastic shopping bags as part of the retailer’s commitment to stop selling the bags nationwide.

The supermarket said the move will see more than 1500 tonnes of plastic removed from circulation annually across Queensland.

The bags were phased out in South Australia, Northern Territory and Western Australia last year.

Woolworths state general manager for Queensland, Danny Baldwin, said paper bags would continue to be available for shoppers who forget to bring their own bags – but the retailer wants to sell fewer bags altogether.

“We know it may be an adjustment for some customers and we thank them in advance for their support as we all work together to create a better tomorrow.”

Woolworths has committed to removing the 15-cent reusable bags entirely from all its stores by the end of June.

Woolies 15-cent reusable plastic bags will be phased out by June. Photo: Woolworths

Coles abandons single-use trial

Coles has announced that it is abandoning a trial of reusable fresh produce bags, instead replacing them with a compostable alternative.

A spokesperson said the trial had been challenging for customers.

“Throughout the Australian-first trial, we were impressed by our customers’ willingness to use reusable mesh produce bags to purchase and reuse when buying fruit and veggies.

“We also acknowledge that a significant change of this kind was challenging for both our customers and in-store teams, however, we remain committed to working towards appropriate and accessible plastic reduction initiatives for our customers moving forward.”

The compostable bags can be placed in household garden compost or kerbside green waste collection bin.

Coles said its reusable mesh bags will remain available for customers to purchase.