05 Mar 2008


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Waitrose boss sceptical on plastic bag levy plans

Plastic bags

green-retail

environmental

Waitrose

Mark Price

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The plastic bag debate has become “a very emotive issue with most commentators unencumbered by the facts”, says Waitrose managing director Mark Price.

Writing in his “Not so chubby” weblog, Price points to the relatively small contribution made by single-use carrier bags to overall household waste.

He also highlights the initiatives already operating within Waitrose, such as Bags for Life, to promote the reuse and recycling of carrier bags.

Price adds: “I have never been a great believer in taxing people to change behaviour so for the meantime we will encourage customers to use reusable bags for life and roll out our green tills.

“We will continue to recycle plastic carriers returned from our customers but keep our real focus on the big issues of packaging and food waste, sustainability and health and well being.”

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Michael Crouch	07 Mar 2008 11:07:40
We should not forget that an " easily accessible bag" provides huge benefits in checkout productivity. If cheap bags are not provided by the retailer and the checkout process relies on the customers presenting their bags and packing at the same speed as now, then there is a great fear that checkout queues could get longer or more checkouts would be required with additional labour costs. This may be the reason why not all the supermarkets have not been keen to condem the plastic bag.