As editor of If a retailer starts charging for plastic bags, some consumers will start using reusable bags, or opt out of using bags at all. But how many will choose to pay for a bag? The answer comes from Marks & Spencer plc in the U.K.
The retailer started charging 5 pence for bags last year, and the Daily Mail reports today that the result of the "Banish the Bags" campaign was an 83 percent reduction in bag use in 12 months.
That adds up to 400 million bags "that would otherwise have ended up in landfill or blighting streets, the countryside and seas," according to the story.
By the numbers: M&S cut the number of bags it distributed from 464 million in the previous year to 77 million. The £1.2 million (US$1.8 million) that it collected -- 5 pence at a time -- went to an environmental group called Groundwork, which used it to create or improve greener living spaces.
Comments (2)
This is just one side of the story. They are enforcing the bag fee and of course they would only show the side that supports them. How about some other numbers as a result of this fee? Such as the increase of the sale of garbage bags? Paper bags? Reusable bags ending up in landfills? All these bags have a higher carbon footprint than the normal check-out bags. If they take all such number into account, I will not be surprised to find out that the fee is actually more harmful to the environment. But of course M&S will never show the other numbers.
Posted by Arthur | May 5, 2009 12:45 PM
Posted on May 5, 2009 12:45
Haha, I think Arthur must be fairly aged. I think that more and more shops should cottton on, and take their bags away or charge for them, lidl, aldi, and m&s do, and go anywhere in the continent and they expect you to have your own. So why not here. I think the eldery will always find something to mutter about, they are just far too stuck in their silly little ways.
Besides when tesco start to charge for bags the money they make from them will just go into their back pockets, whereas the money m&s make for them goes to charity.
It has decreased the amount of bags taken by a considerable amount and not just in m&s food, in the clothing area as well and even in different supermarkets its a lot more common for people to have their own bags... I couldnt actually agree with charging for bags any more than I already do.
Besides you must be a bit of a slow one to realise you can get bio-degradeable bin liners to put your rubbish in. And at the end of the day yes people are still going to use "bin bags" and yes they do probably have a higher "carbon footprint" than normal carrier bags, but at least we are trying to reduce what goes to landfill, decreasing the amount of plastic bags that goes to landfill every year by 83% is more than good enough for me!
Posted by Lucy | June 25, 2009 1:16 PM
Posted on June 25, 2009 13:16