28-02-2008
M&S to introduce carrier bag charge
News by Adfero for Simply Business - independent providers of public liability insurance, business finance, landlord insurance, buy-to-let mortgages & commercial mortgages.
Retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S) is to start charging for carrier bags, it has emerged.
Following an earlier trial involving 50 stores, customers making purchases in the firm's food halls will be required to pay a total of 5p for every plastic bag used. During the trial, it was noted that plastic bag demand declined by over 70 per cent.
"[We want to] make it easy for our customers to do their bit to help the environment," said Sir Stuart Rose, chief executive of M&S, in a report by the BBC. "We've got a very ambitious plan, our Plan A as we call it. One of the five pillars of that plan is to send no waste to landfill by 2012."
As part of the new policy, every 5p paid by a customer will be donated to a charity for the environment. Plastic packaging can be made from a number of different materials, including Polyethylene and Polypropylene.