UK Retailers Pledge to cut the Environmental Impact of Carrier Bags
The move comes in a joint initiative involving representatives from all areas of the retail sector and in response to a concerted call for action from Environment ministers in England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales. They have agreed to support the campaign together with the British Retail Consortium (BRC) and WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme), which manages waste prevention programmes for the four governments.
The agreement gives flexibility to allow individual retailers to respond to the agreement in ways that are best suited to their customers and type of trading, and recognises that a number are already addressing this issue through a variety of approaches.
Retailers will be reducing the environmental impact of bags by:
- encouraging customers to reduce significantly the number of carrier bags they use;
- reducing the impact of each carrier bag (e.g. by using less material or incorporating recycled content); and
- enabling the recycling of more carrier bags where appropriate.
There will also be further work to encourage carrier bag re-use.
Commenting, Local Environment Minister Ben Bradshaw said:
"This is an ambitious but very practical agreement and we are pleased that the retailers have agreed to work with us and UK consumers in such a positive way.
"Consumers are increasingly aware that they can make positive choices to help the environment in the way they shop. By signing up to this statement, the UK's retailers have also committed to help their customers to reduce, reuse and recycle their carrier bags."
If achieved, the 25% reduction target could reduce carbon dioxide emissions by up to 58,500 tonnes a year – equivalent to taking 18,000 cars off the road for a year. It is another example of the simple practical measures that can be taken to help tackle climate change.
Nigel Smith, British Retail Consortium Director of Environmental Policy, said:
"Retailers are already rewarding re-use, promoting 'bags for life', using and developing alternative materials and trialling bigger bags that carry more shopping. They want to take that further.
"Twenty-five per cent is an ambitious target for the industry as a whole. It will require the Government’s support in encouraging customers to reduce, re- use, recycle and take an improved approach to household waste management."
Each signatory is now working with WRAP to identify a baseline figure against which the reduction in environmental impact can be measured and reported. Progress will be monitored jointly by the retailer signatories, government and WRAP and a review will be completed before the end of 2008 to see what would be required to make further reductions by 2010.
Director for Waste Implementation Programmes at WRAP, Phillip Ward, explained:
"This initiative builds on WRAP's broader work with the retail sector to reduce packaging waste. Where there is genuine commitment, flexible voluntary arrangements like this can be successful in bringing change."
Editor's notes:
- WRAP works in partnership to encourage and enable businesses and consumers to be more efficient in their use of materials and recycle more things more often. This helps to minimise landfill, reduce carbon emissions and improve our environment.
- Established as a not-for-profit company in 2000, WRAP is backed by Government funding from Defra and the devolved administrations in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
- Working in seven key areas (Construction, Retail, Manufacturing, Organics, Business Growth, Behavioural Change, and Local Authority Support), WRAP’s work focuses on market development and support to drive forward recycling and materials resource efficiency within these sectors, as well as wider communications and awareness activities including the multi-media national Recycle Now campaign for England.
Annexe 1.
Joint Statement on Reducing the Environmental Impact of Carrier Bags
In response to Ministers from Defra, the Scottish Executive Environment and Rural Affairs Department, the Welsh Assembly Government and the Northern Ireland Office, and in the context of widespread public interest, the UK Retail sector has agreed to take action and is proposing to set itself a shared objective with the government and WRAP to reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags. This will be achieved via the following routes:
- by reducing the environmental impact of each individual carrier bag
- by encouraging customers to significantly reduce the number of carrier bags they use
- by enabling the recycling of more carrier bags where appropriate
Further discussion will be required to agree a baseline figure and appropriate unit of measurement to report annually on meeting reduction targets. This will need to take account of reusable bag initiatives and the use of recycled materials in preference to virgin.
The circumstances in different parts of the retail sector vary and so a uniform target reduction for all sectors will not be appropriate. Store location, format, frequency of visit, product range and average spend per shopping visit are all factors which have an impact on the potential for reducing the environmental impact of bags.
In becoming a signatory to this statement, retailers have agreed:
- to work jointly with government and WRAP (the Waste and Resources Action Programme) to monitor the environmental impact of carrier bags and to agree a baseline figure from which to measure reduction
- to work with the above parties to reduce the overall environmental impact by 25% by the end of 2008
- to review experiences by the end of 2008 in order to determine what would be required in order to make a further reduction by 2010
The following have signed up:
ASDA
Boots Group Plc
Co-operative Group
Debenhams
DSG Retail Limited (Dixons and Currys)
Early Learning Centre
E H Booths and Co Ltd
Halfords Plc
Home Retail Group (Argos, Homebase and PC World)
John Lewis Partnership (John Lewis and Waitrose)
Marks & Spencer
The Musgrave Group Plc
Next Group Plc
Primark Stores Ltd
Sainsburys Supermarkets Ltd
Somerfield Group
Spar (UK) Ltd
Tesco
Travis Perkins (Wickes)
United Co-operatives Ltd
Wm Morrison Supermarkets Plc
Association of Convenience Stores
British Retail Consortium
Federation of Small Businesses Scotland
NIIRTA (Northern Ireland Independant Retail Trade Association)
Packaging and Industrial Films Association
Scottish Grocers Federation
Press Office
Media Relations Manager, WRAP
WRAP,
The Old Academy,
21 Horse Fair,
Banbury
OX16 0AH
Tel: 01295 819928
press.office@wrap.org.uk
Press Office
Senior Press Officer, WRAP
WRAP,
The Old Academy,
21 Horse Fair,
Banbury
OX16 0AH
Tel: 01295 819695
press.office@wrap.org.uk
