LOOK WHAT A DIFFERENCE JUST 5P MADE
The plastic bag levy was imposed on supermarkets and other large retailers in October 2105 following the Mail’s successful Banish the Bags campaign.
The charge was designed to reduce the number of carriers shops hand out because each can take 1,000 years to degrade after being used for an average of 20 minutes.
As well as being an environmental disaster, the bags end up as litter on our streets, beaches, parks and in the countryside.
Samantha harding, of the Campaign to Protect Rural england, said there had been a reduction in branded carrier bags, but the blue and black bags from smaller shops were as common as ever.
Welcoming news that these would also attract a charge, she said: ‘The levy has started an amazing conversation about how we can avoid other unnecessary usages of plastic, such as bottles and straws, and packaging. It’s opened people up to the idea of: Why are we using all these items when we don’t actually need to?’
Allison Ogden-Newton of Keep Britain Tidy, which also campaigned for the bag levy, said: ‘The charge has proved to be incredibly successful in changing behaviour, with [billions fewer] bags in circulation and we look forward to similar measures to reduce the impact of plastic bottles, coffee cups and other packaging on our environment.’
The full effect on supermarkets – and charities – is clear:
MARKS & SPENCER
BAG REDUCTION: 90 per cent since a charge was introduced in 2008, with a reduction of around 500million bags a year. AMOUNT RAISED: During 2016/17 net proceeds resulting from charging for singleuse carrier bags in england, Wales and Scotland came to £4.6million. GOOD CAUSES SUPPORTED: Charities working to address health, social and environmental issues and international poverty, including Breast Cancer Now, UNICeF and WWF.
MORRISONS
BAG REDUCTION: 80 per cent AMOUNT RAISED: £9.1million CAUSES SUPPORTED: CLIC Sargent cancer charity, Sue Ryder care.
TESCO
BAG REDUCTION: 80 per cent (figure as of 2016, the latest available) AMOUNT RAISED: £41million CAUSES SUPPORTED: 9,000 projects ranging from improving community buildings and outdoor spaces to new equipment, training coaches and volunteers, and hosting community events. Customers can vote for the project they want the money to go to. every two months, grants handed out of up to £4,000 in 565 UK regions.
ASDA
BAG REDUCTION: 90 per cent (2016) AMOUNT RAISED: £4-£5million CAUSES SUPPORTED: UCL Dementia Research Centre.
WAITROSE
BAG REDUCTION: 70 per cent (2016) AMOUNT RAISED: £12million since 2015 CAUSES SUPPORTED: UCL Dementia Research Centre, along with £1million to tackle plastic pollution, part of which is to support the Marine Conservation Society’s beach and river clean-ups and other causes.
CO-OP
BAG REDUCTION: 74 per cent AMOUNT RAISED: £6million from bag charges and bag for life sales CAUSES SUPPORTED: The Co-op’s community fund, including Cruse Bereavement Care Bedfordshire, Birmingham Youth Clubs, Bristol North West Foodbank, RSPCA Leeds and community first responders around england.
ICELAND
BAG REDUCTION: 80 per cent AMOUNT RAISED: £7.5million CAUSES SUPPORTED: UCL Dementia Research Centre. ‘We donate the whole of the 5p raised from each bag sale (excluding VAT collected by the Treasury) to UCL Dementia Research, making no deduction for costs,’ an Iceland spokesman said.
ALDI
BAG REDUCTION: has charged for bags since 1990. ‘Aldi has always charged for carrier bags, and as a result our customers are conditioned to reusing bags,’ a spokesman said. AMOUNT RAISED: £4.5million-plus CAUSES SUPPORTED: Royal Society for the Protection of Birds, Teenage Cancer Trust, Farm Africa, Red Cross.
LIDL
BAG REDUCTION: Charged since 1994 and completely removed singleuse bags from sale in July 2017. AMOUNT RAISED: £1million CAUSES SUPPORTED: Keep Britain Tidy, CLIC Sargent.
SAINSBURY
NOT taking part in scheme in england. Instead, selling ‘reusable’ orange, thicker plastic bags for 5p. These bags are not subject to levy but they still choose to donate profits to local charities. These profits, in addition to those from their 10p bags for life and the levy for their online single-use carrier bags, raised £5.5million last year.