Victory for the Mail after Tesco axes 5p plastic bag

BRITAIN’S biggest supermarket is to stop selling throwaway 5p plastic bags in a breakthrough against waste and litter.

Tesco will replace single-use carrier bags with a sturdy and reusable 10p ‘Bag for Life’.

The move will reduce the number of flimsy bags issued by around 700million a year. Green campaigners welcomed the news and said attention should now focus on introducing a deposit and refund scheme on plastic bottles.

It also represents a victory for the Daily Mail’s Banish the Bags campaign, launched in 2008, and the efforts of environmental and anti-litter groups.

Money raised from sales of Tesco’s 10p bags for life will fund community projects across the UK, with the figure estimated to be around £24million a year.

The introduction of the 5p charge in england in 2015, which followed Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, dramatically cut the number issued at tills.

Some estimates suggest the total handed out fell by more than 80 per cent – equivalent to six billion bags a year.

Tesco’s decision to scrap even the 5p bag represents a remarkable turnaround. When the Mail campaign launched, all the major high street chains tried to block charges on plastic bags.

Now they celebrate both the sharp fall in numbers issued at tills and that tens of millions of pounds has been raised for good causes.

These include everything from anti-litter initiatives to beach clean-ups, new playgrounds and cancer care nurses.

Tesco’s new 10p bag for life is made from 94 per cent recycled plastic. It will be replaced free of charge if it becomes damaged.

The decision follows trials in Aberdeen, Dundee and Norwich, which saw sales of bags cut by 25 per cent as shoppers brought their own. Tesco said: ‘Removing single-use carrier bags will significantly reduce the number of bags sold and will therefore help reduce litter and bags sent to landfill.’

The supermarket will also be removing single-use wine carriers and lowering the price of its ‘Carry me bottle bag’ from £1 to 40p.

online customers will still be able to opt for single-use carrier bags or select a bagless delivery, which 57 per cent of Tesco’s internet orders are doing.

Louise edge, senior Greenpeace campaigner, said: ‘It’s great to see major retailers moving away from disposable plastic.

‘The plastic bag charge has done wonders for reducing the number of bags polluting our coastlines and waters. Now we need to see the same for throwaway plastic bottles – a deposit return scheme which encourages collection.’

Miss edge warned retailers needed to do more to reduce their ‘plastic footprint’ to protect Britain’s oceans, including using less packaging and plastic-free aisles in supermarkets. Tesco has used money raised via the 5p charge to support its Bags of help scheme, which has donated more than £33million to over 6,400 community projects since 2015.

UK and Ireland chief executive, Matt Davies, said: ‘Today’s move will help our customers use even fewer bags but ensure that those sold in our stores continue to fund thousands of community projects across the country chosen by customers. It’s the right thing to do for the environment and for communities.’

environment minister Therese Coffey said: ‘The switch to a bag for life will continue to help reduce litter and boost recycling – helping to leave the environment in a better state than we found it.’

‘Now we need action on bottles’