I went to Countdown yesterday to grab some groceries, I was in a hurry and as is so often the case, forgot my recyclable bags which were in the boot of my car. It was pouring with rain, I didn’t think, I just parked and ran inside. It wasn’t until I got to the check out that I realised I’d left them behind. As the checkout operator scanned my groceries I found myself apologizing to her about how sorry I was that I’d forgotten my recyclable bags, I burbled on about the rain and that I was in a rush and I wasn’t thinking and I just raced in without them. She looked up at me and looked suitably unimpressed with my ramblings. As she placed each item into a plastic bag I felt the glare of judgement raining down on me. She couldn’t resist responding. “You won’t be able to forget them in future,” she told me, “we are getting rid of these..” she said pointing at my leper-like plastic bags. “They will be gone.. none.” She was hammering the point home.

I explained that I was aware of that and that I'd be more mindful in future, and apologised again. As I scooped up my plastic bags and hurried out of the store I made a mental note to get my bags out of the boot and maybe leave them somewhere easier to see in future, like the back seat.The attitude of the check out worker though made me think she’s a tad fed up with educating people about plastic bags.

Soon it will be less of a case of educating, and more of a case of tough luck we’re out.

The Associate Environment Minister said yesterday the government's getting closer to making a decision on single use plastic bags.

An announcement’s due in the next few months. Whether it’s a blanket ban remains to be seen, but already we have Countdown phasing them out. Other companies such as Foodstuffs which owns New World Four Square and Pak n Save are looking to phase them out. As well as Mitre 10 and The Warehouse, which already charges you for a plastic bag. By the end of this year, we should notice as consumers, far less plastic being offered with our purchases.

But there is more supermarkets can do of course. All the fruit and veges vacuum packed or wrapped in plastic needs addressing. The plastic meat and poultry trays too. Countdown’s set a goal to reduce plastic packaging on its own branded products within the next 7 years. It’s also getting rid of plastic straws. The trend to move away from plastic wrapped fruit and veges and move towards renewable materials.. or no wrap at all, is already underway in Australia and will be followed on here.

All of this is to be applauded of course. But it’s also a reminder for people like me, that we need to do our bit too. Remembering to take the recyclable bags out of the car, would be a good start.