The agreement to reduce the volume of both plastic and paper carrier bags provided to customers by 50% against 2006 levels, covers England, Wales and Northern Ireland.
It follows the creation of powers in the Climate Change Bill which allow the government to force retailers to charge for carrier bags if they do not take adequate action to reduce them (see letsrecycle.com story).
Announcing the move today, Defra said that the pledge was a step in the right direction to reach a 70% reduction in the longer term. In 2006, around 13 billion bags were used by consumers in the UK.
Ms Kennedy said: “This is a bold commitment which will result in around five billion fewer bags being handed out. Supermarkets have already taken some imaginative steps to help us use fewer carrier bags and other high street retailers should look to them for inspiration.
“Of course, we can all play our part to reduce the number of carrier bags on our high streets and the Government will work closely with the BRC on a campaign to help us all to do so.”
Stephen Robertson, BRC director general, explained that supermarkets were already meeting their commitment to reduce the environmental impact of bags by 25%, alongside other environmental initiatives.
He said: “They're now volunteering an ambitious new target to help customers halve bag use by next spring. Supermarkets have been so successful in this by taking customers with them in ways they find acceptable, by encouraging and rewarding. This new partnership with the Government, underpinned by action across the retail sector, offers exciting new opportunities to help our customers across the UK to do the right thing. It's one more step towards reducing waste and environmental impact.”
Liz Goodwin, chief executive of the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP), welcome the agreement. She said:
“The word from stores is that many more of us are re-using our bags.That is something we are working to encourage and WRAP will be playing its full part in this initiative. This agreement should act as a spur to all of us to remember to take our bags with us when shopping. Retailers and governments are now clearly working together to help all of us reduce the number of bags we use. The aim, which is at the core of WRAP's work, is a world which uses resources more efficiently.”
Progress under this agreement will be monitored by WRAP and the Government. WRAP and retailers will jointly review it in the summer of 2010, or other date to fit with the Courtauld review schedule.
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