Supermarket Sleuths: The real reason you can no longer choose 'bagless' for your weekly shop

Coles and Woolworths have confirmed a change to their grocery delivery options that has been in place for sometime, but many shoppers are only noticing it now.

The supermarket giants ended their "bagless delivery", which used to be an option for shoppers choosing to have their groceries delivered to their homes in 2020.

And the reason so many shoppers are only noticing this now is because there has been a significant increase in customers choosing home delivery options in the 12 months, leaving them with piles of paper shopping bags they don't know what to do with!

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The huge uptake of fast grocery delivery services via Uber Eats and DoorDash has also exacerbated this.

Coles and Woolworths initially suspended the option in line with COVID restrictions when "contactless" deliveries were required to be left at customer's front doors instead of being brought into their homes.

Customers soon became accustomed to having their deliveries left outside their homes, and the choice was made not to bring the option back.

I still remember when Coles and Woolworths first began delivering groceries to customer's homes because it was around the same time I had my first child.

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Back then the deliveries would be wheeled all the way into our kitchens and the delivery driver and I would have a lovely chat each time.

But back then they were always in bags, including some – usually chilled and frozen items – in plastic bags and the rest in paper bags.

Coles introduced a bagless home delivery option in 2018. Woolworths also introduced a "Crate to Bench" option that same year.

These services saw grocery deliveries being wheeled into customer's kitchens and the items being unloaded straight on benches and tables.

I used this service a few times and it allowed me to quickly check all of my items had been delivered.

Back then you also had to sign to verify that all of your items had been received. That process has also changed.

Coles first introduced "bagless delivery" in 2018, at the same time supermarkets began charging customers for bags. The option allowed customers to save on the cost of bags if they so wished, and was also promoted as a "sustainable" option.

These days customers phone a service number if they have wrong or missing items, or reported them via the supermarket's app.

While bagless delivery isn't available for home deliveries anymore, it is an option still offered to customers who choose to pick up their groceries via Coles "Click & Collect" and Woolworths "Direct to boot".

These customers have their deliveries wheeled to their vehicles where they can pack them into their own bags.

Those who choose to have their groceries delivered to their homes have now been left with an unexpected problem – what do we do with all of the paper bags we are left with?

They have no longer have a choice for bagless delivery or to use their own bags.

This was the topic of a recent discussion on Reddit. Some common themes appeared, supported by an in office survey at nine.com.au.

"I have lots of them due to online shopping (their bagging efficiency is WANTING, there's often one item in a bag)," one Redditer reported on the 'Woolworths' thread.

Many Redditors and nine.com.au staffers confessed to simply placing them in a pile, with no particular plan in place.

"I allow them to slowly accumulate in the cupboard under my sink and then never ever use them again," one nine.com.au staffer said.

"We have a 'bags bag', they all go in there to reuse as many times until the quite literally split. After that recycling bin they go!" another shared.

"If they're ripped/dirty I use them for as 'bins' for recycling," one nine.com.au staffer said.

"If they're clean and in good condition I fold some away and use them if I need to give people random things, e.g. if I need to return a bunch of Tupperware to my mum."

Many use them to hold their recycling rubbish.

"I use them as recycling 'bins' so I can just throw the whole bag and recycled stuff straight into the recycling bin."

"I use the small ones that Coles gives for 'Click & Collect' as recycling rubbish. The big ones, I put back in my car and tell myself to remember them next time I shop (I do not)."

One nine.com.au staffer "used them as wrapping paper for Christmas presents last year when I ran out".

"I throw them out when we get deliveries because I live in a tiny apartment and I already have lots of tote bags. Why can't we choose bag free delivery? I hate it. Please sort it out," one said.

"I recycle the paper ones that come with deliveries as I use fabric shopping bags when I go in store (and I never forget them)," another said.

"One thing to keep in mind if you pop recycling in them (which I do to take to the bin easily) is you need to empty the bag in the recycling bin. It must be loose as they don't sort through bags."

This was fact checked at the City of Sydney and other council website, that explained: "Yes, paper shopping bags should be placed loose in your yellow-lid recycling bin, not filled with other recyclables.

"Bagged items, whether in plastic or paper, are often sent to landfill because they cannot be easily sorted at recycling facilities."

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