| Carrier bag use cut by 4.6bn |
By: Rebecca Hubbard
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Posted: Friday, August 27, 2010 11:28 am
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According to figures by the British Retail Consortium, for the fourth year running, grocers have reduced the number of single use carrier bags being handed out, as a result of independent monitoring.
It was also found over the same period of time that the total weight of material used in carrier bags has reduced by more than a half. The BRC claim this to be an impressive achievement as sales volumes have in fact increased by more than 6% since 2006. They also say that the results act as a "ringing endorsement" of the approach adopted by the supermarkets and now negates the need for possible taxes or bag bans. They now believe that retailers should be allowed to use and adopt their own range of methods that work best for their own customers.
In the results, 43% fewer single use bags were handed out in the year to May 2010 than in 2006. The reduction over the same period is 41% when bags of all types are taken into account. This shows that the gain is across the board rather than simply a case of thin plastic bags being replaced by other types.
Stephen Robertson, BRC director general, said: "This is a tremendous achievement by supermarkets, customers and staff, especially as between 2006 and 2009 the amount of goods sold by participating retailers grew by over 6%. The sustained reduction shows that customers are permanently adopting the habit of re-using their bags.
"The continuous decrease in total annual bag use demonstrates the voluntary approach continues to make good progress through individual retailer initiatives that take customers with them.
"The reduction in bag use is great news, but it's the halving of the total weight of single-use carrier bags, which shows retailers really scoring on the crucial issue of reducing environmental impact."
The Welsh Assembly Government is currently in the process of pushing through a controversial 7p charge on single use carrier bags, which could come into effect as early as March 2011. Retailers could face a £25,000 fine if they don't impose the charge when it comes in. |
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