This week Federated Co-operatives Limited announced it had signed the Canada Plastics Pact which means its 160 local Co-ops in Western Canada are committed to reducing problematic plastics throughout its supply chain.

Brad DeLorey, Director of Communications and Public Relations with FCL, says customers won’t necessarily see a full scale plastic bag ban in their stores although they may consider it in the future.

For now, he says customers can expect to see changes to a variety of in store packaging such as bakery clam shells, Styrofoam meat trays as well as plastic bags and bottles used to package our Co-op branded products.

While signing on to the Canada Plastics Pact is a new initiative for the Co-operative Retailing system, FCL say they have been making changes over the years which included switching to non-plastic, compostable straws, stir sticks, cutlery and take-out containers.

Additionally, Co-ops have worked to eliminate plastic rings from its private label canned beverages and are providing customers with the option to use paper bags and reusable ones.