NOT MADE FROM PLASTIC

Pick n Pay was the first retailer to trial compostable bags as an environmentally friendly alternative to plastic bags.

The customer trial, a one day pilot, at its V&A Waterfront store in Cape Town, replaced all plastic carrier bags, barrier bags and fruit and vegetable bags with compostable bags made from starches, cellulose and vegetable oils. The project forms part of the retailer’s ongoing packaging- and plastic-reduction project. Developed by Italian company Novamont, an industry leader in bioplastic, the bag is made from fully biodegradable and compostable bioplastic resin, known as Mater-Bi, which is sold to manufacturers to produce compostable bioplastic products.

“The bags for the trial were made from the imported raw material and manufactured in Cape Town. They are strong and can be re-used,” says Pick n Pay’s Suzanne Ackerman-Berman, adding that an important feature of the trial bags is that they are home-compostable. They are designed to collect organic waste such as kitchen scraps and will compost with the organic waste in a home-compost environment.

“The bag will break down after three to six months, depending on the composting system. This is compared to the reported 500-1 000 years for ordinary plastic bags,” says Ackerman-Berman adding that this initiative is still in its infancy in SA with several considerations to look at before they could be introduced at scale.