Marks & Spencer stores across the South West of England are to start the first phase of a two-part carrier bag charging trial, aimed at encouraging customers to significantly reduce the number of carrier bags they use, this week.
For four weeks, from Sunday 6th January, customers shopping in 35 M&S stores across Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Devon will receive a free M&S ‘Bag for Life’ (usual cost 10p) with every food transaction.
Then from Sunday 3rd February, a 5p charge will be introduced for standard food carrier bags.* The ‘Bag for Life’ will revert to its usual 10p cost and will be replaced free of charge when worn out. All profits raised from the sale of the standard food carrier bags will be donated to the charity Groundwork UK and invested in local environmental regeneration projects.
Sarah Miller, M&S General Manager in the South West said: “Since we announced our intention to trial charging for carriers in the South West, feedback has been very positive with customers telling us that they are ready to break the habit of using too many bags.
“We hope that the trial will encourage us all to think about the number of carrier bags we are using and make the effort to reduce, reuse and recycle whenever we can. This is why we are starting by giving all of our customers a free Bag for Life over the next four weeks.”
The South West trial follows a successful period of charging 5p per bag in M&S’ Northern Ireland stores which, in the first 16 weeks, saw a 66% reduction in the number of carriers used, with three quarters of M&S customers choosing to use an alternative to the standard M&S food carrier bag each time they shopped. In the same time period, the trial raised over £40,000 for Groundwork Northern Ireland.
From January 2008, M&S stores in the South West will be also the first in the country to trial using standard food carrier bags made from 100% recycled post consumer waste.
Both trials are part of M&S’ Plan A commitments to reduce carrier bag usage by a third and send no waste to landfill by 2012. Plan A, M&S’ business wide, £200 million ‘eco-plan’, was launched in January 2007.
M&S stores included in the new trial area are: Avon Meads, Barnstaple, Bath, Bournemouth, Bristol, Castlepoint, Cheltenham, Christchurch, Cirencester, Cribbs Causeway, Dartmouth, Dorchester, Exeter, Falmouth, Frome, Gloucester, Harbourside, Hayle, Honiton, Kingsditch, M5 Exeter Services, Newton Abbot, Plymouth, Plymouth Crownhill, Poole, Taunton, Tewkesbury, Tiverton, Torbay, Torquay, Truro Lemon Quay, Westbourne, Weston-Super-Mare, Weymouth, and Yeovil.
Source : Marks and Spencer plc
For four weeks, from Sunday 6th January, customers shopping in 35 M&S stores across Cornwall, Dorset, Somerset, Gloucestershire and Devon will receive a free M&S ‘Bag for Life’ (usual cost 10p) with every food transaction.
Then from Sunday 3rd February, a 5p charge will be introduced for standard food carrier bags.* The ‘Bag for Life’ will revert to its usual 10p cost and will be replaced free of charge when worn out. All profits raised from the sale of the standard food carrier bags will be donated to the charity Groundwork UK and invested in local environmental regeneration projects.
Sarah Miller, M&S General Manager in the South West said: “Since we announced our intention to trial charging for carriers in the South West, feedback has been very positive with customers telling us that they are ready to break the habit of using too many bags.
“We hope that the trial will encourage us all to think about the number of carrier bags we are using and make the effort to reduce, reuse and recycle whenever we can. This is why we are starting by giving all of our customers a free Bag for Life over the next four weeks.”
The South West trial follows a successful period of charging 5p per bag in M&S’ Northern Ireland stores which, in the first 16 weeks, saw a 66% reduction in the number of carriers used, with three quarters of M&S customers choosing to use an alternative to the standard M&S food carrier bag each time they shopped. In the same time period, the trial raised over £40,000 for Groundwork Northern Ireland.
From January 2008, M&S stores in the South West will be also the first in the country to trial using standard food carrier bags made from 100% recycled post consumer waste.
Both trials are part of M&S’ Plan A commitments to reduce carrier bag usage by a third and send no waste to landfill by 2012. Plan A, M&S’ business wide, £200 million ‘eco-plan’, was launched in January 2007.
M&S stores included in the new trial area are: Avon Meads, Barnstaple, Bath, Bournemouth, Bristol, Castlepoint, Cheltenham, Christchurch, Cirencester, Cribbs Causeway, Dartmouth, Dorchester, Exeter, Falmouth, Frome, Gloucester, Harbourside, Hayle, Honiton, Kingsditch, M5 Exeter Services, Newton Abbot, Plymouth, Plymouth Crownhill, Poole, Taunton, Tewkesbury, Tiverton, Torbay, Torquay, Truro Lemon Quay, Westbourne, Weston-Super-Mare, Weymouth, and Yeovil.
Source : Marks and Spencer plc
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