Coles has announced this week that they will be freely giving out the thicker, reusable 15c plastic bags away indefinitely. 

Coles spokesperson said since their ban on single-use plastic bags which commenced from 1 July, some customers said they “needed more time to make the transition to reusable bags”. 

“We will continue to listen to our customers and our team members on an ongoing basis to assess when customers have become accustomed to brining their own bags, and will provide them with as much notice as possible,” the spokesperson said. 

“Many customers brining bags from home are still finding themselves short a bag or two, so we are offering complimentary reusable Better Bags to help them complete their shopping,” the spokesperson added. 

However, this action has stirred criticism from environmental groups as they claim that reusable bags are worse for the environment once they are discarded into waterways and habitats, due to their longer break-down process. 

They predict that it will be far more likely for the reusable bags to be used once and discarded because the price is removed.

“It’s disappointing Coles has listened to what is admittedly a vocal minority in favour of what the polls have repeatedly shown are an overwhelming majority of people in Australia who want them to take action,” Greenpeace campaigner Simon Black said.