The Group has said that using recycled bags rather than those made from virgin material will provide more consistent prices since it breaks the link with fluctuating oil prices.
The company is one of the UK's first major retailers to introduce a fully recycled bag. The bags are being supplied by Lancashire-based Nelson Packaging who also developed the technology used to make the bags.
The new bags are already available in the Group's Currys, The Link and larger Dixons stores and will be rolled out to all Dixons and PC World stores in the New Year.
Vivien Williams, Dixons Group's environment manager, said: “We're delighted to be making this contribution to the reduction of waste. Our carrier bag initiative joins a range of other services, including product and packaging recycling, that show that we take our environmental responsibilities very seriously.”
Dixons Group estimates that in the four weeks before Christmas, its chains will supply customers with 3 million carrier bags. Each tonne of bags produced from recycled plastic will save around 1.8 tonnes of oil and the company estimates that by switching to recycled bags it will save a 59 tonnes of crude oil in December alone.
A spokesperson for the company explained that the switch to 100% recycled bags has not been that expensive. He said: “The cost of switching to recycled bags for us is fairly neutral but it depends on the price of oil. With the recycled bags, there is some guarantee of consistency of price as it is not as affected by the changing price of oil. We are very comfortable with the cost of the new bags.”
Subscribe for free