Retailers cut carrier bag use by 26% (26/02/09)
Retailers have exceeded a voluntary target to reduce the environmental impact of single-use carrier bags by 25% by the end of 2008, according to figures released today (February 26).
The Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) has revealed that there has been a 40% reduction in the amount of virgin plastic used by retailers in new bags since they signed a voluntary agreement with the UK government in February 2007.
WRAP, which is the waste advisory body to the government, said that retailers had also reduced the number of bags in circulation by 26%, used less material to make the bags and increased the recycled content of bags.
Over the past two years, WRAP has been collecting data and monitoring initiatives by retailers that help reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags including encouraging re-use through reward schemes, promoting bags for life and charging for bags.
The data shows that initiatives by retailers to reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags have resulted in a 23,000 tonne reduction in the weight of carrier bags issued. The total number of bags in circulation has reduced from 13.4 billion in 2006 to 9.9 billion in 2008, equivalent to a 26% reduction.
Dr Liz Goodwin, WRAP chief executive, said: "Consumers deserve congratulations for these results as they clearly show we are moving away from using bags once to re-using bags often.
"They are also a credit to retailers who have worked hard to find innovative ways of helping us re-use our bags."
The 21 retailers who have committed to the agreement include: Asda Wal*Mart; Boots; Co-operative Group; Debenhams; DSG International plc (Currys and PC World); E H Booths & Co Ltd; Home Retail Group (Argos and Homebase); John Lewis Partnership (John Lewis and Waitrose); Marks & Spencer; Next Group plc; Nisa Todays; Primark Stores Ltd; Sainsbury's Supermarkets Ltd; Somerfield Group; Spar (UK) Ltd; Tesco; Travis Perkins (Wickes); Wm Morrison Supermarkets plc.
They must now meet a target to reduce the number of carrier bags given out by 50%. This will eventually rise to a 70% target but a date is yet to be set for this to be achieved.
Jane Milne, a spokeswoman for the British Retail Consortium, the trade association for the retail sector, commented: "With this first target met and exceeded we are now working to halve the number of bags taken by May this year.
We need every customer to help us by remembering their bags for life on planned shopping trips and, where they do need to take an ordinary carrier bag, re-using it on five or six shopping trips before returning it for recycling.
The Climate Change Act, which was given Royal Assent in November 2008 gives the government the power to force retailers to introduce a compulsory levy on their customers' use of single-use carrier bags if the voluntary targets are not met.
The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) has said it expects the agreement to result in a reduction of 4.5 billion bags per year in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Defra figures show that single-use carrier bags account for approximately 0.3% of the domestic waste stream.