17 Apr 2008


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Sainsbury's to halve plastic bag usage by April 2009

Sainsbury's

Plastic Bags

Source : Sainsbury's
Sainsbury's has announced its intention to halve the number of free one-use disposable plastic bags used by its customers by April 2009 and to reduce the overall environmental impact.

The company believes a number of different initiatives are required to bring about a change in consumer behaviour and will therefore be initiating actions to engage customers in reducing the number of bags they use, re-using the bags they have and recycling bags that are no longer fit for purpose.

Sainsbury's chief executive, Justin King said: “Sainsbury's does not believe that charging for single-use bags is the only answer or that it is the most likely way to achieve lasting benefit for the environment.

"Forcing customers to make a decision they don't fully understand is not the best way to achieve sustained behavioural change.

"This requires a series of actions to help customers to reduce, reuse and recycle. Starting this weekend we will test a number of new initiatives to find out what engages and helps people to reduce the number of bags they use.

“Since last April we believe we've given away more free 'Bags for Life' than any other retailer. We now need to help customers remember to re-use them to really make a difference on this issue and achieve a 50% reduction in disposable bag use.”

Sainsbury's has already significantly reduced the amount of plastic used in its bags and was acknowledged by WRAP last month for achieving a 40% reduction in its environmental impact to date versus an industry average of 14%, and ahead of the agreed 25% target by end of 2008.

In April 2007 Sainsbury's was the first major retailer to campaign for change on plastic bag usage when it gave away nine million free bags for life. In total in 2007 it gave away 15 million free bags for life achieving a 10% reduction in the number of free bags used.

Recent Sainsbury's research revealed the biggest barrier to customers in using fewer plastic bags is that they simply forget to either bring them back into store or to take them out of the car boot (49%).

In response, Sainsbury's is devoting its 'Make The Difference Day' on Saturday 19th April to this issue by giving all customers a free fridge magnet and car sticker, reminding them to take their old bags with them when they go shopping.

To achieve the 50% reduction in usage target by April 2009, Sainsbury's will pilot a series of innovative initiatives aimed at helping customers cut down on plastic bags or to find better alternatives.

The results of the trials will inform further progress on bag reduction and Sainsbury's is happy to share the results of trials to move the issue forward.

Recent research revealed that nearly three quarters (73%) of Sainsbury's customers want to be rewarded for reusing their shopping bags, which is why Sainsbury's will reward customers with a Nectar point for every bag reused at the checkout from June 2008 and this will apply to all plastic bags, not just Sainsbury's own carrier bags.

The effect plastic has on the environment is a wider issue than the number of bags used each year.

Sainsbury's is still the only major retailer to have taken action to reduce the amount of plastic used in the manufacture of bags.

The retailer also announces that its single use bags, currently made using 33% recycled content and 10% chalk, will by June use 50% recycled content.

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