Home improvement and garden retailer, Mitre 10, has announced it will ditch single-use plastic bags and remove them from its network of 81 Mitre 10 and Mitre 10 Mega stores by the middle of 2018.

The retailer will also remove plastic boot liners, which are sometimes used by its garden centre customers to protect their cars from dirt and debris.

According to Mitre 10, the decision follows a review of single-use plastic bags and reflects an increased level of interest from customers on the topic.

Neil Cowie, Mitre 10 CEO, says the company regularly looks at ways to operate more sustainably and started discussions with its owner-operators on plastic bags earlier in the year.

“As a group of locally owned and operated businesses, we want to do our bit for New Zealand and tackling single-use plastic bags is one of those steps we need to take,” Cowie said.

“From the outset our store owners were overwhelmingly in support of a move to reduce the environmental impact of plastic bag waste, and all indications show this view is shared by our customers too.”

Cowie said previously, the company has trained its checkout operators to ask about a plastic bag and let our customers decide for themselves rather than providing one as a matter of course.

“We believe that customers are now ready to take the next step and feel the time is right for us to formalise this more environmentally friendly practice of discontinuing single-use plastic bags,” he said.

Customers will have the option to purchase a reusable bag for $1.00 at both Mitre 10 and Mitre 10 Mega stores, the retailer announced, and a non-plastic boot liner alternative will also be introduced in the coming months. There are no plans to introduce an interim charge on plastic bags during the phase out period.

“We will focus on encouraging customers to prepare for the switch themselves rather than imposing an interim charge for plastic bags or boot liners,” Cowie said.

Mitre 10 is also a member of the Soft Plastics Recycling programme and is working with the operators to expand the number of Mitre 10 stores currently participating in the initiative. The company’s approach to plastic packaging and minimising waste overall is also under review.