Monday 4 July 2022

Canadian retailer Loblaw to eliminate single-use plastic bags from 2023

Canadian retailer Loblaw Companies Limited has announced plans to eliminate all single-use plastic shopping bags by the end of the first quarter of 2023.

Single-use plastic bags will not be used at its corporate and franchise supermarkets, pharmacies and PC Express service across the country from next year, completing a 15-year journey when it implemented a charge for its plastic bags to help reduce plastic waste.

According to Loblaw, the adoption of a plastic bag charge led to a 70% fall in the use of plastic bags in its stores, with shoppers switching to using the reusable bags.

The latest announcement is one of various commitments made by the retailer, which includes achieving net zero emissions by 2040 for Scope 1 and 2 emissions and net zero emissions by 2050 for Scope 3 emissions.

It also aims to reduce plastic waste by making all of its control brand and in-store packaging recyclable or reusable by 2025 and send zero waste to landfill by 2030.

Robert Sawyer, Chief Operating Officer, Loblaw Companies Limited said: “As a purpose-led organisation, committed to helping Canadians live life well, we are proud to be taking a significant step on such an important environmental issue.

“Since 2007, our efforts to reduce the number of single-use plastic shopping bags leaving our stores has led to 13.8 billion fewer bags potentially going into landfill.”