Buy 10p bag, says Tesco as it plots to axe 5p charge

THE days of the 5p supermarket carrier bag could soon be over, as Tesco is piloting a plan to scrap them and force shoppers who forget their own bags to buy a “bag for life”.

It is planning to end sales of so-called “single-use” carriers altogether, less than two years after large stores were forced to charge for them.

Once gone, customers who forget to bring their own bags will have to fork out 8p or 10p for a bag-for-life instead, said Tesco.

While some customers may be angered by the move, which will see them pay more if they forget their regular shopping bag, others may be pleased to see fewer bags being used.

In 2015 the Government introduced a 5p charge for single-use carrier bags to discourage shoppers from using them, following reports that billions were ending up in the oceans and harming fish and animals. Data released last year showed that Britain had virtually banished plastic bags just six months later.

According to figures released by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, shoppers were on track to use about six billion fewer single-use plastic bags over the year.

The Marine Conservation Society said the number of plastic bags being found on UK beaches has halved since the policy came in.

Now Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer, is launching a 10-week trial in stores in Aberdeen, Dundee and Norwich, to see how customers get on without the 5p bag option. If successful it will be rolled out nationwide, potentially leading to supermarket rivals following suit.

Since October 2015, Tesco has handed out 1.5billion fewer bags than it would normally have done over the same period.

Tesco said it would not profit from the more expensive bags and would continue to support environmental charities.