Carrier Bags - 50% agreement (2009)
In December 2008, the UK Governments(*), British Retail Consortium (BRC) and leading supermarkets agreed to a 50% cut in the number of single-use carrier bags given out to customers by Spring 2009. This was in a bid to radically reduce the consumption of carrier bags, both paper and plastic, and was measured against a 2006 baseline.
Background
Working on this objective were seven of Britain's major supermarket chains in England, Wales and Northern Ireland:
- Asda;
- The Co-operative Group;
- Marks and Spencer;
- Sainsbury's;
- Somerfield;
- Tesco; and
- Waitrose.
(*Governments: The Scottish Government, Defra, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Department of Environment Northern Ireland).
The results
Results announced in July 2009 show a 48% reduction in the number of single-use carrier bags being used, narrowly missing the challenging target of 50%.
In May 2006, the number of single-use carrier bags used by participating retailers was 870 million. This figure fell to 450 million in May 2009 - a total reduction of 420 million.
Summary breakdown, in millions, by UK nations:
| May 2006 (i) | May 2009 (i) | Reduction in number (i) | % reduction | |
UK England | 870 718 | 452 372 | 418 346 | 48% 48% |
| Scotland | 78.4 | 39.6 | 38.8 | 49% |
Wales | 53.2 | 27.1 | 26.0 | 49% |
| Northern Ireland | 19.8 | 12.2 | 7.6 | 38% |
(i = rounding the figures up or down causes apparent discrepancies between the figures for the Nations and the total UK row).
For all bags (including bags for life and reusable bags), the total weight in May 2009 was 4,740 tonnes. This compares to 8,890 tonnes in May 2006 - a reduction of 47%.
Next steps
The Governments(*) have asked WRAP to continue to monitor progress in readiness to review in Summer 2010. Retailers will continue to work with their customers on reducing bag use.
