Supervalu have become the first Irish supermarket to offer customers a 100% compostable and reusable shopping bag.
The retailer says this will result in a whopping 2.5 million plastic bags being removed from circulation.
The new shopping bag, which is from a blend of renewable raw materials, will be available from September 9, and costs 89 cent.
A spokesperson said: "When the bag has been used as many times as possible and is ready for the bin it can be disposed of in the brown bin that is found in most homes and many businesses and is then fully broken down once taken to industrial composting sites, turning into water and CO2 within 90 days."
It follows Supervalu's replacement of single-use plastic bags for fruit and vegetables with fully compostable bags last year.
The retailer has already removed a 113 tonnes of plastic from fruit and veg packaging; by eliminating plastic where possible, introducing compostable alternatives and reducing the weight of plastic packaging.
The company aim to make 100% of its own brand and fresh fruit and vegetable packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.
Martin Kelleher, Managing Director of SuperValu, said of the launch:“Our customers expect SuperValu to help them make more sustainable choices and we’re committed to doing just that.
"Reducing our environmental impact on the planet is a core focus of our overall strategy to help build sustainable communities and we have already made significant steps forward in this area.
"We are delighted to be the first Irish supermarket to introduce 100% reusable compostable bags in-store and will continue to explore ways of reducing plastic in innovative ways, making sure we meet our pledge to make 100% of our own brand and fresh fruit and vegetable packaging recyclable, reusable or compostable by 2025.”
