From July 1, 2023, a fee for single-use plastic bags will be introduced in Lithuania, so buyers think about how to replace them. There are reusable bags in stores, but the question arises of additional expenses with each purchase, because bags weigh more than disposable bags, and stores have not yet agreed on a unified system to eliminate this weight of the mass of the products. Store representatives recommend removing goods from such bags near the cash register or reusing disposable bags, writes rus.delfi.lt.
Discussion about it has erupted on social media. A woman on Facebook drew attention to the fact that when making a purchase it will not be possible to deduct the mass of the reusable bag from the mass of the goods, which means that each time the buyer will have to pay more. She pointed out that the reusable bag from the Lidl network weighed 8 grams.
“But we have already bought this package. When I asked the saleswoman at the self-service checkout to deduct the weight of the package, she widened her eyes. She says: no one asked to do this before. But I know that abroad you say at checkout: reusable or disposable packaging, they already think differently. For example, a reusable packaging from a store in another network weighs 18 grams. So I don’t understand the logic – take care of nature and pay for what you have already paid for,” the buyer was indignant.
And in fact, reusable bags can weigh in different ways, there are those that weigh 20-25 grams. For example, in a store, a kilo of pistachios costs 19.59 euros. You take pistachios in your parcel, which can weigh from 8 to 20 grams, the weight of the parcel is taken into account in the total weight of the goods, which means that you have to pay more. If the parcel weighs 8 grams – 15 cents more expensive, and if 20 grams – 40.
It doesn’t seem like a lot, but in a year a solid amount will “rise” for the use of reusable packaging, for which it has already been paid.
The distribution chains Rimi, Maxima, Lidl and Iki have announced that they will sell disposable bags at 1 cent.
The Postedia was interested in how the networks plan to solve such a problem. “The procedure will not change, only one will have to pay for single packages. If the current procedure does not raise any questions, then the new procedure should not raise any questions,” Norfa representative Darius Riliškis said.
Maxima representative Indre Trakimaitė-Šiaškuvienė said that customers can choose more eco-friendly packaging: paper bags (available at the bakery department), reusable bags for vegetables and fruits. “Currently, in our stores, there is no way to deduct the mass of reusable packaging. In the future, we will look for a solution to make this possible. We encourage customers to buy goods such as candies, to reuse the disposable plastic bags brought from home. You can also weigh them at the checkout without a bag, then put them in their own container,” explains a Maxima representative.
The representative of the Iki network, Vaida Budrene, also noted that in their store, no one will additionally check whether the buyer uses his package or picks up a new one. “And now many Iki customers come with their own packages. At the self-checkout, a window first appears on the monitor where you can select the option “I’m using my package”, if you do , the system itself regulates the In regular checkouts, the shopper takes the product out of the packaging and weighs it,” noted Boudrene. According to an Iki spokesperson, the reusable bags in their stores weigh a few grams. and cost 1.49-1.99 euros.
In Lidl stores, two single-use bags cost 0.99 euros. “We understand that from July, buyers will come with their package more often, so we are improving the checkout functions to make it more convenient when shopping. If the buyer comes with their package, they should inform the salesperson at checkout,” Lina, Lidl Lietuva representative, told Skersite.
Egle Krasauskienė, spokesperson for Rimi, noted that so far there have been no complaints in stores about the introduction of bundle fees. “Customers will be able to bring their own bags – reusable and disposable, as they currently do. Also, as before, you can use paper cooking bags free of charge. We encourage you to consider whether all products really need additional packaging, for example, if you take several apples or tomatoes. We trust our customers. In Estonia, the procedure for paying for parcels is already in place, our colleagues there say that there is no problems. If there are questions, we will look for a way out,” Rimi said.
Source: delfi
