The Süperbag went on sale in Luxembourg on Tuesday, 25 June Matic Zorman

The Süperbag went on sale in Luxembourg on Tuesday, 25 June Matic Zorman

The Süperbag is the new shopper’s friend from waste reduction and management platform Valorlux and retailer federation the CLC.

“This initiative aims to reduce single-use plastic bags used in the loose fruit and vegetable sections of grocery stores,” Valorlux director Claude Turping told press on Monday, adding that the second objective was to help consumers shift to more sustainable habits.

At a cost of 35 cents, the bag can be used to replace single-use plastic bags (of less than 15 microns thickness) when buying loose fruit and vegetables in Aldi, Auchan, Cactus, Cora, Delhaize, La Grande Epicerie Massen, La Provençale, Match, Naturata and Pallcenter.

Made from PET, the bags are recyclable, washable and can carry up to 4 kilos of produce. They come with a label on which the bar codes of weighed loose produce can be placed making it easier for the cashier to scan the articles. Once the bags become damaged, partner shops will replace them free of charge. As an introductory offer, shoppers will be offered a free bag for every Süperbag purchased between 25 and 30 June.

Cactus removes veggie bags

In Luxembourg store Cactus, the Süperbag will replace the smaller veggie bags, the Luxembourg chain has been using since August 2017, spokeswoman Karin Pütz told Delano. According to Pütz, the store sold around 50 packs of four bags per day in its stores.

Meanwhile, grocery collection services such as Auchan Drive and Cora Drive will decide how they package their loose fruit and vegetables for shoppers to collect.

Aldi, which has 16 stores in Luxembourg, told Delano earlier in June that it planned to introduce loose fruit and vegetables in the coming months.

Since 1 January 2019, shops are no longer required to give away plastic bags thicker than 15 micrometres.

90% reduction

For the past 15 years, reusable Eco-sacs have been made available for purchase in Luxembourg stores. According to Valorlux, this has led to a 90% reduction in the consumption of single-use plastic bags (weighting 15-50 microns).

Valorlux explained on Monday that 42 million single-use plastic bags of a thickness of 15 microns or less were used in Luxembourg in 2018, equivalent to 70 bags per inhabitant. In terms of waste it is the equivalent of 189 tonnes of plastic, 109,620 m3 of gas, 104 tonnes of petrol and 394 tonnes of CO2.