As of today, customers that request bags at the stores will have five pence added to their bill for each bag, charged through a barcode on the bag.
Lorain Coutts, the company's director of communications who initiated the scheme, said that B&Q; aimed to cut up to 90% of the seven million bags used at its Scotland stores each year. If the trial is successful, the scheme could be launched at B&Q; stores across England and Wales, she said.
The money raised from the scheme will go to the Keep Scotland Beautiful scheme run by environmental campaigns group ENCAMS.
Ms Coutts was inspired to introduce the scheme to colleagues after she was made aware of a charge being levied on plastic bags at DIY stores in Australia. “I put it to my colleagues in Scotland and they were enthused by the 90% reduction in the amount of new carrier bags used at the Australian stores.”
“We realise that carrier bags only make up 1% of the waste stream, but they're a very visible part of the waste stream and I think drawing attention to them makes people think about waste issues more,” she explained.
Ms Coutts said that the company had been in discussions with the Scottish Retail Consortium, which represents the shops and stores in Scotland. She said the group was: “not quite sure about the scheme, but have said for us to go ahead.”
The British Retail Consortium and Scottish Retail Consortium believe that plastic bag charges and taxes would increase the demand for other single use bags such as refuse and bin bags. They believe that the tax will not reduce plastic consumption, and say consumers are unlikely to continue re-using for secondary applications.
Ms Coutts said that reducing plastic bag consumption at DIY stores may be easier than at other stores because customers often use trolley to take goods straight to their car. And many items, such as paint tins, could be carried to a car without needing a bag, she said.
She added that B&Q; had been encouraged by the introduction of a plastic bag tax in Ireland, which has shown a considerable drop in the number of new carrier bags used at B&Q; stores in the country.
Subscribe for free