GEJI Australian exchange student Gemma Black reports from a Netto supermarket in central Aarhus, Denmark.
Netto is a budget Danish supermarket chain, owned by the Danish Supermarket Group (Dansk Supermarked Gruppen). There are 398 Netto stores in Denmark, as well as hundreds in Germany, England, Sweden and Poland.
Netto charges customers 3 kroner per plastic bag. Branded Netto plastic bags can be found beneath the checkout counter. This is standard practice among all large supermarket chains in Denmark (e.g. Kvickly, Lidl, Aldi, Fakta), none of which offer customers free plastic bags. This is as a result of the levy on plastic bags introduced by the government in 1994. But charging for plastic bags is not mandatory and many smaller stores still give them away.
A survey of 30 customers was conducted outside the Netto store in Gellerup, a district of Aarhus, Denmark’s second biggest city. Of the 30:
- Eight bought new plastic bags (11 bags in all);
- Seven reused old plastic bags;
- Ten brought their own non-plastic bags. Of these, five used backpacks/satchels; three used canvas bags; and two used handbags – very small purchases;
- Four used no bag at all, instead carrying small purchases by hand;
- One used a plastic bag obtained free from a nearby shop.
The number of people not using a bag at all appears to be a direct result of passing the responsibility of bagging on to customers, who regularly take the most convenient and cost-effective option.
The futility of paying for an oversized plastic bag for just one or two items is illustrated when a customer has to consciously decide to buy the bag, even though the cost is negligible. Contrast this with the situation in which the customer has to make a point of asking not to be given a plastic bag, which is often the case in supermarkets which do provide free plastic bags.
Nor is it only the added cost of using new plastic bags that encourages shoppers to bring their own. The entire experience of shopping in Denmark makes the environmentally friendly option more appealing. For example, the customer is under pressure to bag his or her goods as quickly as possible so as not slow down the shopper behind them. Having a bag ready therefore makes for an overall less stressful shopping experience.
Similarly, a seeming majority of shoppers, especially in the Netto Gellerup store (an area with a high student population) have travelled to and from the store either by bicycle or bus. It is much easier and more comfortable to use a backpack or material bag when travelling by means other than a car.
HASSAN TARIQ
Age: 23
Residence: Brabrand
Occupation: Exchange student (from Salford University, UK).
Studying aeronautical engineering at the Engineering College of Aarhus. Bought one new plastic bag at Netto, Gellerup.
Do you usually buy bags or bring your own? I usually buy them.
Doesn’t the cost concern you? Yes, it does, but sometimes I prefer to buy bags, rather than carry one around with me at school all day. And sometimes I just forget. They don’t cost that much, but I guess it really depends on my financial condition.
Do you worry much about the environmental side of it? Not really. Actually, right now is the first time I have really considered the environmental side of it. I probably only ever use one bag a week, and maybe even less than that. And I usually have a lot of other things on my mind!
For more on how the levy has reduced plastic bags, read Jeppe Funder’s report on Denmark.