The Items You Will No Longer Be Able to Blame for an IKEA Shopping Trip

Swedish homeware giant IKEA has announced it will phase out all single-use plastic products by 2020 across its stores worldwide.

It comes as the furniture retailer announced plans to use only renewable and recycled materials in its products by 2030.

IKEA said on Thursday it aimed to reduce the climate impact of each of its products by more than two thirds by the end of next decade.

The announcement revealed the store will stop selling single-use plastic products including straws, plates, cups, freezer bags, garbage bags, and plastic-coated paper plates and cups, reports Yahoo 7.

The change will also come into effect across Ikea’s restaurants which will stop giving out plastic straws, cups, plates, cutlery, drink stirrers and plastic containers for freshly prepared food.

“Through our size and reach we have the opportunity to inspire and enable more than one billion people to live better lives, within the limits of the planet,” Inter IKEA CEO Torbjorn Loof said in a statement to accompany the company’s 2030 sustainability strategy document.

“We are committed to taking the lead, working together with everyone – from raw material suppliers all the way to our customers and partners.”

Woolworths and Coles also announced it would be banning the sale of plastic straws by year’s end.

Coles said it would reduce plastic wrapping on fruit and vegetables, including bunches of bananas, kale and silver beet, and replace meat and poultry packaging with recycled and renewable materials.

Do you shop for these items very often? (Mainly birthday parties for me. I must just rinse and recycle!)

Share your comments below.

29 Comments

- - meedee said
  - 02 Sep 2022
    12:33 pm
This is very much a good thing

- - ~Loui~ said
  - 03 Jul 2018
    11:19 pm
I bought some glass mugs from an op shop years ago and have used these for every party since. I store them away in between 🙂

- - becstalou said
  - 19 Jun 2018
    11:25 am
I hope there are wooden reusable cutlery because it will make parties much easier.

- - mom81879 said
  - 19 Jun 2018
    9:17 am
Yay for IKEA. Great to see the big companies jumping on board to save the planet

- - LuckyMum said
  - 13 Jun 2018
    8:23 pm
Every bit helps ! Glad to see big companies starting to take this problem seriously !

- - ella12 said
  - 13 Jun 2018
    2:52 pm
Good on IKEA for going forward on this important issue.

- - rovermum said
  - 13 Jun 2018
    9:57 am
The times are a changing…. I do my best to re-use and recycle, but for parties etc. it is simply easier to use throw-away plastic plates. However, I’m happy not to anymore.

- - not_amanda said
  - 12 Jun 2018
    9:24 pm
I was afraid this was going to be about IKEA getting rid of things like their crab- paste-in-a-tube or elk-shaped pasta! This is good news! I’ve always hated how if you wanted water with your meal at the restaurant they’d give you a plastic cup instead of a glass.

- - mom114371 said
  - 11 Jun 2018
    9:08 pm
I don’t think it was too far. The kid was pushing and punching the park manager. He was well within his rights to defend himself. He might have only been a kid but was nearly as big as the park manager and certainly knew what he was doing. I can almost guarantee the kid was only behaving the way he was because he thought he would get away with it.

- - mom74005 said
  - 11 Jun 2018
    8:02 pm
It’s great that ikea is doing more and taking a stand on the single use plastics issue. I hope more companies follow this pathway.

- - mom111059 said
  - 11 Jun 2018
    12:48 pm
Paper bags will do the job plastic ones do and save the environment at the same time. Well done IKEA.

- - sapphy said
  - 11 Jun 2018
    2:26 am
it’s time to go back to the days of paper bags and paper straws

- - jools41 said
  - 10 Jun 2018
    9:58 pm
I try not to buy these products but sometimes for parties I do. This is an excellent thing IKEA ????

- - mom265671 said
  - 09 Jun 2018
    11:56 pm
Well done to IKEA!

- - mom93821 said
  - 09 Jun 2018
    8:48 am
The damage from plastics is awful and any campaign to address this works for me!

- - Ellen said
  - 09 Jun 2018
    4:13 am
Great initiative !
No I don’t buy these items, but have done in the past for birthday parties and at times of moving for example.
- mom93821 replied
  
  10 Jun 2018 , 6:04 am
  It is a good initiative and it will be good to see a change in the restaurant too.
- - sambii said
  - 08 Jun 2018
    11:57 pm
I buy takeaway containers as I’m forever giving friends leftovers when I do a big curry cook up and don’t want to lose my better containers — in saying that, my friends now tend to bring their own containers over and I just fill them up!

- - curlytops said
  - 08 Jun 2018
    10:08 pm
I think now in England plastic straws are banned and everyone is managing fine with paper ones.

- - becstalou said
  - 08 Jun 2018
    9:53 pm
Hopefully environmentally friendly alternatives can be invented and even if they cost more if they’re the only option people can either find something reusable or use the environmentally friendly version.

- - ashna9 said
  - 08 Jun 2018
    8:12 pm
I only buy these for bday parties anyway and never from Ikea so all good here 🙂