Partner Article

Supermarkets just miss plastic bag target

Supermarket chains have narrowly missed a target to halve the number of plastic bags given to customers.

Seven chains signed up to a voluntary agreement last year, which aimed for a 50% cut in the amount of bags issued, compared to 2006 levels.

In May 2006, 718m bags were being given out but by May 2009 this had almost halved to 372m, which amounts to a reduction of 48%.

Environment Secretary Hilary Benn praised the efforts of retailers, and looked forward to further reductions.

‘This is a great achievement by the seven supermarkets and their customers and it shows that by working together, we really can change our bag habits,’ he said.

The British Retail Consortium believes consumer behaviour has now changed, helped by supermarkets giving out free re-usable bags and awarding loyalty points to customers re-using bags.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Ruth Mitchell .