28 February 2008 Major UK retailer Marks & Spencer has announced a 5 pence charge for food carrier bags in all of its UK stores from the beginning of May. The decision follows pilot projects in Northern Ireland and the South West of England where a 5p charge led to a 70% reduction in the number of carrier bags used by food customers.
M&S said that all profits generated from the charge will go to environmental charity Groundwork for projects to provide parks, play areas and gardens in neighbourhoods around the UK.
M&S chief executive Sir Stuart Rose said: This move lies at the heart of our 100-point eco plan, Plan A. We want to make it easy for our customers to do their bit to help the environment and our trials have shown us that they want to take action. Just imagine if M&S customers right across the UK cut the number of food bags they use by 70% that s over 280 million bags they d be saving every year.
UK media has focused on the 5 pence charge, but Marks & Spencer has made progress in many areas related to packaging in Plan A, a wide ranging programme launched a year ago and costing 200m (PRW.com 15 January 2007). Sales of its thicker gauge bags for life increased eight-fold from 2006, with more than 6.5 million sold in 2007.
In a review of the first year of Plan A, M&S said that it has achieved the voluntary target under the Courtauld Agreement with the government, whereby retailers are reducing food packaging.
Providing an example of how it has achieved this, M&S said it has introduced a new type of plastic packaging that is 20% lighter than the one previously used in its Italian ready meals range. It estimates that rolling this new packaging out across the 15 lines in the range will save 48 tonnes of packaging per year.
M&S is also making efforts in the area of recycling. It said: Across all the food products we sell, 68% of the packaging we use is recyclable in the majority of local authorities, which is in line with the average for the food retail sector. This figure could rise to 80-90% if a wider range of recycling services for plastic packaging were available across the UK.
Returning to the subject of bags, M&S said it now uses 100% post-consumer recycled plastic in non-food carrier bags and bags for life. From January, 35 M&S stores in the South West of England are trialling the use of standard food carrier bags made from 100% recycled post consumer waste.
M&S said that all profits generated from the charge will go to environmental charity Groundwork for projects to provide parks, play areas and gardens in neighbourhoods around the UK.
M&S chief executive Sir Stuart Rose said: This move lies at the heart of our 100-point eco plan, Plan A. We want to make it easy for our customers to do their bit to help the environment and our trials have shown us that they want to take action. Just imagine if M&S customers right across the UK cut the number of food bags they use by 70% that s over 280 million bags they d be saving every year.
UK media has focused on the 5 pence charge, but Marks & Spencer has made progress in many areas related to packaging in Plan A, a wide ranging programme launched a year ago and costing 200m (PRW.com 15 January 2007). Sales of its thicker gauge bags for life increased eight-fold from 2006, with more than 6.5 million sold in 2007.
In a review of the first year of Plan A, M&S said that it has achieved the voluntary target under the Courtauld Agreement with the government, whereby retailers are reducing food packaging.
Providing an example of how it has achieved this, M&S said it has introduced a new type of plastic packaging that is 20% lighter than the one previously used in its Italian ready meals range. It estimates that rolling this new packaging out across the 15 lines in the range will save 48 tonnes of packaging per year.
M&S is also making efforts in the area of recycling. It said: Across all the food products we sell, 68% of the packaging we use is recyclable in the majority of local authorities, which is in line with the average for the food retail sector. This figure could rise to 80-90% if a wider range of recycling services for plastic packaging were available across the UK.
Returning to the subject of bags, M&S said it now uses 100% post-consumer recycled plastic in non-food carrier bags and bags for life. From January, 35 M&S stores in the South West of England are trialling the use of standard food carrier bags made from 100% recycled post consumer waste.
