Pick'n Pay probed alternatives

2003-05-07 14:33

Cape Town - In the run-up to the introduction of legislation regulating the production, distribution and sale of plastic bags by retailers in South Africa, listed food and general merchandise retailer Pick 'n Pay (PIK) spent time researching several alternatives to the very environmentally unfriendly plastic bags before deciding to introduce its own reusable "Green Bag".

Heading up this research, Pick 'n Pay director Graeme Laithwaite told I-Net Bridge that the company had considered the use of brown paper bags, as in the US and other countries, as well as cardboard boxes, to meet consumers' carrying needs.

"We seriously considered using paper bags, but found that in South Africa paper costs three times that of plastic, so the price made this alternative impractical," he explained.

"Also, paper is not really that environmentally friendly since, although it is recyclable, it sacrifices trees in the process."

Pick 'n Pay also conducted a special survey on the use of boxes, Laithwaite revealed, hoping that the number of boxes it received from its suppliers could meet the requirements of consumers. However, this option also fell short.

"As has been experienced in other countries, we found that we did not get in enough boxes in a day to satisfy customer numbers," he said. "After only about two or three hours into the shopping day we had run out of boxes and had to resort to plastic bags again."

As the most viable alternative, Pick 'n Pay has gone to considerable trouble in introducing its Green Bag.

Laithwaite found an Irish company that had developed a unique washable, non-woven polypropylene shopping bag, and went to Ireland to investigate. The 18l carrier bag can stand on its own and offers great value to customers at a price of only R5.

Pick 'n Pay ended up purchasing the South African rights to the bag from the Irish group, Laithwaite said. The retailer has also developed special stands in which the bags sit at the check-out counter and these can reduce the amount of packing time required by 20% compared to the old plastic bag system.

The new Green Bags have already proved to be a hit with Pick 'n Pay customers, added Laithwaite. "We introduced the Green Bags on Saturday and the entire initial order of 300 000 bags was completely sold out in two and a half days," he concluded.

News24 posed the following question to users, here are the results:

What will you use when plastic bag tax comes into effect on Friday?
I'll pay the tax: 17%
I'll bring my own: 55%
A basket: 17%
My pockets: 10%

- I-Net Bridge (Business)