Countdown's BYO container scheme goes nationwide

Monday, 29 July 2019

Countdown customers soon to be able to BYO containers in limited stores as a new scheme to reduce single use plastics is trialled.

Countdown supermarkets are rolling out a bring-your-own container scheme across the country this week after a successful trial in selected stores.

The six-week trial was used to troubleshoot the service and gather customer feedback.

Consumers can now bring their own containers to deli, meat and seafood counters where they will be cleaned, dried and weighed by staff before being filled.

Countdown's general manager corporate affairs, safety and sustainability, Kiri Hannifin said kiwis could help reduce plastic waste by using the service.

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'Re-using your own container is a small way to help and as Plastic Free July comes to an end, I'm very pleased to let our customers know that BYO containers are now a reality in Countdown stores,' she said.

BYO containers can now be used at meat, deli and seafood counters.

Customers could bring clean waterproof containers into stores, which would then be cleaned with a food-safe detergent, and dried by supermarket staff to ensure safety.

Supermarkets were required by law to ensure food sold wasn't contaminated by its packaging, and Countdown had to take reasonable steps to make sure customer containers would be suitable, she said.

A Countdown poster for its BYO container rollout.

Hannifin said customer feedback during the trial had been positive and the only change it had made as a result was to use an eco-friendly dishwashing liquid to clean containers before filling them.

'We've made this change and are now using Ecostore dishwashing liquid.'

Hannifin said, while BYO containers could slow service down slightly while they were washed and dried at service counters, customers had been supportive.

Foodstuff's supermarkets have also been running a bring-your-own container trial scheme since May in North Island stores.

Bring-your-own containers have been used for many years at bulk foods retailer Bin Inn, which mainly sells dry goods, and offers customers a 5 per cent discount for doing so.

New Zealand Food Safety told Stuff in June that it supported initiatives by supermarkets as long as they were managing risks. Food businesses were given greater flexibility to manage food safety risks and to respond better to consumer demands under the Food Act 2014, he said.

Hannifin said that BYO scheme was just one initiative Countdown was working on to reduce plastic.

It was also auditing it's own-brand packaging, trialling different bag options in its bakeries and using misting systems on fruit and vegetables to remove the need for packaging.

It had reinstated the soft-packaging recycling scheme in several of its Auckland stores, she said.