K Group has been campaigning to reduce the consumption of plastic carrier bags since 2016 as part of the plastic carrier bag agreement between the Finnish Commerce Federation and the Ministry of the Environment. K Group wants to reduce the consumption of plastic carrier bags with new measures. The most visible of these for customers is the increase in the price of plastic carrier bags in K-food stores from 13 May. The price of a plastic carrier bag will increase to EUR 0.35 in K-Citymarkets and to EUR 0.39 in K-Supermarkets and K-Markets.
“One of the targets of the EU Packaging and Packaging Waste Regulation is that no more than 40 plastic carrier bags per person should be purchased per year. We still have a long way to go to reach this target and we need new measures to reduce the consumption of plastic carrier bags. We hope that raising the price of a plastic carrier bag will act as an incentive for customers to take their own bag with them when they go shopping. The plastic carrier bag counter in the K-Ruoka app helps our customers – they can check how many plastic carrier bags they have bought in the past year,” says Timo Jäske, Sustainability Director at Kesko’s grocery trade.
In addition to the price increases, changes have been made to the display of carrier bag options at the checkout areas so that plastic carrier bags are not the first choice for the customer. Where space allows, bin liners sold in a roll are also located in the checkout areas.
“According to a K Group survey*, plastic carrier bags are often chosen over other alternatives because they can also be used as bin liners. However, bin liners sold in a roll are the best choice for waste – they are thinner, so therefore contain less plastic, and they are also a cheaper option,” Jäske continues.
Less plastic – more recycling
K Group is committed to reducing the use of plastic and promoting the recycling of plastic. Last year, 23 tonnes of plastic, which is equivalent to almost 29 million plastic carrier bags, was reduced from the packaging of Pirkka, Pirkka Parhaat and K-Menu products. However, plastic is still an excellent packaging material for many food products because it protects the product and reduces food waste.
It is important that plastic ends up being recycled and reused. Finland is falling short of the plastic recycling target set by the EU for member states, and both businesses and homes must increase their recycling.
“When plastic is recycled, we are saving limited raw materials and reducing waste. Promoting the circular economy requires cooperation and we are constantly looking for new solutions with our suppliers. We also want to ensure that the packaging used by households ends up being recycled. To make sorting easier, we have added written sorting instructions to our private-label packaging,” says Jäske.
K Group is calling on its partners to join its Plastic Challenge
As a new measure, the K Group is launching a Plastic Challenge for its partners to encourage them to take real action to promote the recycling of plastic.
“We hope that as many of our partners as possible will get involved in setting their own targets and finding new ways to increase the recycling of plastic. We want to raise awareness of this important topic and create a network for sharing experiences and best practices on plastic recycling by businesses. All our partners are welcome to join the challenge, regardless of whether they are in the early stages or leaders of the pack when it comes to recycling plastic,” says Jäske.
*Survey of the K-Kylä customer community in February 2024. 705 people responded to the survey.
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