Move by Tesco to Cut Carrier Bag Waste is Welcomed
04 August 2006
WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) has welcomed the announcement by Tesco that the supermarket will be rewarding customers who reuse their carrier bags.
The initiative builds on the WRAP-funded ‘Choose to Reuse’ trial campaign conducted last year with a number of retailers to encourage consumers to reuse their carrier bags or take a sturdier reusable bag with them when shopping.
WRAP’s Chief Executive, Jennie Price, said:
“Using Club Card points to promote the reuse of plastic bags is a very positive and imaginative move by Tesco and we hope it will encourage many of its customers to limit the number of new bags they take at the checkout. I am also encouraged that the message will be pressed home both in their stores and through an advertising campaign.
“Single use carrier bags are one of the most potent symbols of our throw away society. Encouraging customers to make a small change in their shopping habits here may lead them to extend their thinking to other areas, making it easier to find solutions to the wider packaging and food waste issues that WRAP is working on with Tesco and other leading grocery retailers.”
UK shoppers use around eight billion bags every year, resulting in around 100,000 tonnes of carrier bag waste. The challenge is to encourage people to remember to take their shopping bag with them each time they go out, in the same way that they would take their keys or purse. Cutting out just one in five carrier bags would save almost 40,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases a year – equivalent to taking over 12,500 cars off the road for a year.
WRAP is working closely with leading retailers to reduce the amount of packaging and food that households throw away. Around half of the 30 million tonnes of household waste that ultimately ends up in landfill every year originates from purchases from supermarkets and convenience stores, so the retail industry and its supply chain is in a prime position to influence consumer behaviour.
By supporting the Courtauld Commitment, 13 top grocery retailers have already committed to taking action on packaging and food waste, and WRAP’s Innovation Fund is also supporting a range of R&D projects on packaging innovations. The results of these projects will be shared across the sector so that innovation can be taken up as quickly as possible.
WRAP’s Chief Executive, Jennie Price, said:
“Using Club Card points to promote the reuse of plastic bags is a very positive and imaginative move by Tesco and we hope it will encourage many of its customers to limit the number of new bags they take at the checkout. I am also encouraged that the message will be pressed home both in their stores and through an advertising campaign.
“Single use carrier bags are one of the most potent symbols of our throw away society. Encouraging customers to make a small change in their shopping habits here may lead them to extend their thinking to other areas, making it easier to find solutions to the wider packaging and food waste issues that WRAP is working on with Tesco and other leading grocery retailers.”
UK shoppers use around eight billion bags every year, resulting in around 100,000 tonnes of carrier bag waste. The challenge is to encourage people to remember to take their shopping bag with them each time they go out, in the same way that they would take their keys or purse. Cutting out just one in five carrier bags would save almost 40,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases a year – equivalent to taking over 12,500 cars off the road for a year.
WRAP is working closely with leading retailers to reduce the amount of packaging and food that households throw away. Around half of the 30 million tonnes of household waste that ultimately ends up in landfill every year originates from purchases from supermarkets and convenience stores, so the retail industry and its supply chain is in a prime position to influence consumer behaviour.
By supporting the Courtauld Commitment, 13 top grocery retailers have already committed to taking action on packaging and food waste, and WRAP’s Innovation Fund is also supporting a range of R&D projects on packaging innovations. The results of these projects will be shared across the sector so that innovation can be taken up as quickly as possible.
Editor's notes:
- WRAP (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) is a major UK programme established to promote resource efficiency. Its particular focus is on creating stable and efficient markets for recycled materials and products and removing the barriers to waste minimisation, reuse and recycling.
- A not-for-profit company, WRAP is backed by substantial Government funding from Defra and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Choose to Reuse: The ‘Choose to Reuse’ pilot campaigns in Bristol and Edinburgh were undertaken to assess the benefit of a campaign to reduce the uptake of free carrier bags at the till, and to encourage repeated use of shopping bags as an alternative.
WRAP worked with the Scottish Waste Awareness Group (SWAG) and the British Retail Consortium and Scottish Retail Consortium in developing the campaigns, which were run in conjunction with ASDA, Boots, Co-operative Group, Dobbies Garden World, Scotmid, Somerfield, Tesco and Waitrose. A range of PR and marketing tactics were tried during the ten week campaign, including regular coverage in the local media, supermarket road shows and leafleting, in-store promotions, children’s design competitions, reusable giveaways and activity in local schools. A report of the findings can be downloaded at: www.wrap.org.uk/retail
WRAP and SWAG (Scottish Waste Awareness Group) are currently developing plans to make bag reuse logos and messages available from their websites for use by local authorities or other interested parties, such as retailers. - Courtauld Commitment: In July 2005, 13 top grocery retailers demonstrated their commitment to reducing the amount of packaging and food waste by signing up to WRAP’s Courtauld Commitment. Asda, Boots, Budgens, the Co-operative Group, Londis, Iceland, Kwik Save, Marks & Spencer, Morrison’s, Sainsbury’s, Somerfield, Tesco and Waitrose pledged their commitment at executive level to supporting WRAP in achieving its objectives:
* to design out packaging waste growth by 2008;
* to deliver absolute reductions in packaging waste by March 2010; and * to identify ways to tackle the problem of food waste. - Innovation Fund: WRAP’s Waste Minimisation Innovation Fund is designed to encourage innovations in packaging that reduce household waste. To date, 28 projects have been approved for support.
- More information on all of WRAP’s programmes can be found at www.wrap.org.uk
Press Office
Media Relations Manager
WRAP
Tel: 01295 819928
press.office@wrap.org.uk
Press Office
Senior Press Officer
WRAP
Tel: 01295 819695
press.office@wrap.org.uk
