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Australia is phasing out single use plastic shopping bags, food containers, straws and cups for very good reason. 

Each year 130 000 tonnes of plastic end up in our oceans severely impacting precious marine animals. 

It was the reality of plastic bag free shopping that led Perth Grandmother, Jeanne O’Donnell, to create the Shoppacart.  

“In Western Australia where I live, the State Government banned single use plastic shopping bags back in 2018,” she said. 

“Although I thought this was a great move, I became frustrated because I was continually leaving my bags at home.” 

“One day I thought, why can’t people just have their own personal shopping trolley and then they wouldn’t need bags.”   

Not surprisingly it has been like-minded shoppers who have been early adopters of Shoppacart. 

But with new measures to strip plastic from the shopping experience being introduced all the time, more and more shoppers are finding the concept of a personal trolley appealing. 

In Australia, supermarket giant Coles is trialling the removal of single use fresh produce bags in the fruit and vegetable sections of its Australian Capital Territory stores while competitor Woolworths is gradually phasing out its stocks of reusable plastic shopping bags. 

Manufacturers and food producers are also stepping up to reduce their environmental footprint. 

Mars Wrigley which produces Mars, Snickers and Milky Way chocolate bars recently spent A$2.5 million transitioning to paper-based wrappers that can be recycled in a normal recycling bin.  

Jeanne says once people start using Shoppacart they are often inspired to find other ways to be more environmentally conscious when they shop. 

“I always try to buy loose fruit and vegetables that aren’t pre-packed and bring my own reusable produce bags,” she said. 

“Although I love sipping on a coffee while I shop, now you’ll only ever find a reusable keep cup in my Shoppacart cup holder.”