Sainsbury&#39s to use recycled plastic in free carrier bags

The supermarket will allow shoppers to recycle used carrier bags at all 750 stores nationwide, with collected bags recycled into the new orange carrier bags. A spokeswoman told letsrecycle.com today that hopes are the move to the new orange bags will be complete by February.

She explained: “Initially the bags will be made using post-consumer recycled plastic, but ultimately the recycled plastic will come from the carrier bags handed in by our customers in the in-store recycling banks.”

Sainsbury's has been offering bag recycling facilities since July 2004, but said today it expects the amount of bags being recycled to double as a result of the new initiative.

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The supermarket hands out about 1.7 billion free carrier bags each year, and the company believes its move towards using more recycled content will help to save 6,500 tonnes of virgin plastic each year – the equivalent of 53,000 barrels of oil.

The carrier bag initiative came in the same month that the supermarket announced a move towards using compostable packaging in 500 products (see letsrecycle.com story).

Justin King, Sainsbury's chief executive, said: “It's been our aim for some time to tackle what we do with our standard free carrier bag because we know this remains a passionate subject for most of our customers.

“This is a major green step forward because recycling carrier bags, very much like lots of our packaging, means we're again cutting down on the use of plastic as well as what goes to landfill,” he explained.

Mr King added that Sainsbury's are aiming to increase further the amount of recycled plastic within the carrier bags.