Background information

The supermarket chain Kaufland was the first retailer in Croatia to stop the sale of lightweight plastic bags. The new rule has taken effect from 1 January 2020. Aiming to reduce plastic in the environment, Kaufland Croatia has decided to completely ban the sale of lightweight plastic bags in all of its stores in Croatia. The company is proud to be the first retail chain in Croatia that decided to do something for a cleaner and healthier environment and ban the sale of plastic bags. In addition to banning plastic bags, simultaneously, Kaufland Croatia has ceased the sale of disposable plastic utensils and cutlery, as well as plastic sticks and straws, and has replaced them with alternative sustainable solutions. Now Kaufland is introducing a new reusable packaging system in its shops.

Content of measure

The goal of the introduction of a new reusable system is to further reduce plastic waste. The company collaborates with the start-up FairCup. The system works as follows: customers can receive products such as appetizers, ground pork or cream cheese in reusable containers at the service counters. A deposit of €1.50 is required for each container, including the lid. After use, the containers can be returned to the packaging return machine. The containers can be reused up to a thousand times. After that, they can be completely recycled. In principle, Kaufland has a vision of "less plastic - a closed circle".

Use of measure

Not available.

Contents

• Work organisation

Target groups

Workers	Businesses	Citizens
Does not apply to workers	Does not apply to businesses	Applies to all citizens

Actors and funding

Actors	Funding
Company / Companies	Companies

Social partners

Social partners' role in designing the measure and form of involvement:

	Trade unions	Employers' organisations
Role	No involvement as case not in social partner domain	No involvement as case not in social partner domain
Form	Not applicable	Not applicable

Social partners' role in the implementation, monitoring and assessment phase:

• No involvement
• Main level of involvement: Company level

Involvement

Due to the nature of the measure, social partners were not involved but they always support any measure for environment preservation.

Views and reactions

As mentioned, social partners always support any measure for environment preservation.

Sectors and occupations

This case is not occupation-specific.

Sources

• 07 April 2023: Kaufland uvodi novu uslugu (fenix-magazin.de)