Australia’s two largest supermarket chains made waves earlier this year when they announced plans to ban single-use plastic bags in stores across the country. The two supermarkets, which together own more than 60 percent of the grocery market in Australia, have each said they’ve kept more than 700 million plastic bags out of circulation this year. Angry shoppers prompted outbursts in checkout lines in several Coles stores and the supermarket giant backflipped just weeks after implementing its ban amid vehement complaints. The supermarket quickly backflipped again, saying it would provide those reusable bags for free for a short time before charging customers for them once more. Both Coles and Woolworths declined to say how many new reusable bags they’ve sold.

Source: Huffington Post December 20, 2018 18:22 UTC