One billion fewer plastic bags given away by shops.

By Martin Hickman, Consumer Affairs Correspondent, The Independent of London, Leap Year Friday, February 29, 2008.

Shops gave away one billion fewer plastic bags last year as they responded to a government call to improve their record on the environmental damage they cause.

The Waste & Resources Action Programme (Wrap) announced the cut in the annual number of bags, from 13.4 billion to 12.4 billion, after a meeting with retailers who have promised to reduce their impact by a quarter by the end of this year. The 21 major retailers signed up to the 25 per cent target in February last year.

Campaigners have been worried about the amount of natural and finite resources such as oil that go into plastic bags, along with problems arising from their disposal. Plastic bags are expected to remain intact for 1,000 years and collect in the countryside and in the sea, where they are ingested by, and sometimes choke, marine animals such as gulls and turtles.

Asda, Tesco, Primark, Debenhams, Boots, John Lewis and 15 other high street retailers have been trying different initiatives to reduce the harmful effect of the bags. Their techniques have included reducing bag size, increasing their recycled content, rewarding their reuse, introducing in-store bag recycling facilities (up by 43 per cent), and putting cashiers rather than customers in charge of dispensing them.

One of the signatories, Marks & Spencer, confirmed its intention yesterday to charge customers 5p for each bag following a successful trial in Northern Ireland, as reported in The Independent on 16 November.

London councils have also tabled a parliamentary Bill banning free bags, following a successful bag-free experiment in Modbury, Devon. Hebden Bridge in West Yorkshire and Hay-on-Wye in Herefordshire have done likewise and many other communities are considering the move.

In a statement yesterday, Wrap said that the use of virgin material such as oil in the bags had been reduced by 14 per cent. It went on: “Performance has been very variable, with retailers reporting activity ranging from a 70 per cent reduction in virgin plastic use to an increase of 22 per cent.

We are disappointed there has not been more progress on the actual number of bags reduced.

“While the 14 per cent reduction achieved is broadly on track to reach the overall target, there’s no room for complacency.”

Wrap declined to specify which retailers had done well because it had signed confidentiality agreements.

Richard Swannell, director of retail, said: “Recent developments show there is clear momentum from retailers, although clearly more needs to be done.”

Sir Stuart Rose, chief executive of Marks & Spencer, said the introduction of a 5p charge from 6 May was part of the company’s 100-point eco plan. “We want to make it easy for our customers to do their bit to help the environment,” he said. Michael Grimes, head of the waste practice at Eversheds law firm, praised the development but asked: “Will people really notice the 5p? And what about legislation? There are suggestions the London councils’ Bill to ban throwaway bags in the capital may, if enacted, one day extend nationally.”

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and from THE TELEGRAPH:

Marks and Spencer to charge for plastic bags.

By Bonnie Malkin and agencies
Last Updated: 7:01am GMT 28/02/2008

Retailer Marks and Spencer is hoping to spark a high-street revolution by charging food customers 5p for every plastic carrier bag they use.

The plastic bag debate.
Have your say: Will it make a difference?
The company hopes the fee will discourage demand for the bags, which campaigners say damage the environment.

Money raised from the levy will be spent on improving parks and play areas across the country, the chain said.

About 13 billion plastic bags are given out free to UK shoppers every year. They take 1,000 years to decay.

The move follows a trial at 50 stores in Northern Ireland and the South West of England which saw demand for polythene bags fall by more than 70 per cent.

If that figure was replicated across the country, the move could reduce the number of bags used by 280 million each year, chief executive Sir Stuart Rose said.

He said: “We want to make it easy for our customers to do their bit to help the environment and our trials have shown us that they want to take action.

“Just imagine if M&S customers right across the UK cut the number of food bags they use by 70 per cent - that’s over 280 million bags they’d be saving every year.

“On top of this, our customers will be raising valuable funds to go to our partner charity, Groundwork, to invest in much-needed green spaces in our neighbourhoods.”

Groundwork chief executive Tony Hawkhead said: “We all want our neighbourhoods to be cleaner and greener and our experience shows that when a major household name takes the initiative, it can encourage millions of people to change their behaviour.

“Not only will this scheme reduce the amount of food carrier bags sent to landfill sites but it will also help improve the quality of life in towns and cities across the country.”

Marks and Spencer will give all food customers free long-lasting bags from early April for one month. The 5p charge will begin on May 6.

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Acknowledgement: We first mentioned in the title ShopRite where we have now Food Emporium. We took ShopRite off when we were informed that the chain has now a policy to reduce the total bill by 2 cents for each bag (plastic or paper) that the customer brings from home. This, though financially even a smaller incentive then the 5p. of Marks & Spencer seems an educationally interesting variant as it reminds symbolically the customer to bring their own bags, but it also gives the seller the incentive to fill the bags in order to decrease the amount of credit to the customer.