Supermarkets reveal what really happens to the money shoppers spend on plastic bags | United Kingdom | News

Shoppers thinking they are helping charities by buying plastic bags from supermarkets may be mistaken, the Express can reveal.

Supermarkets started charging 5p for what are described as “single-use bags” just over nine years ago, as part of a government plan to encourage people to reduce the amount of plastic which they throw away.

The amount increased to 10p in May 2021. At the time, Boris Johnson’s government said: “We expect retailers to donate the profits from this scheme to good causes, but it is up to them to choose what to do and what causes to support.

“We ask retailers to report to us every year on what they do with the levy money.”

These days, mostly stopping selling what are considered ‘single-use bags’, the majority of supermarkets charge shoppers well over 10p to carry their shopping in a bag.

And they don’t have to give money from the sale of the most expensive “bags for life” to good causes.

Several of the retailers interviewed were vague when asked what they do with the money made from the sales of the bags they sell.

Iceland said charging 30p for a reusable plastic or paper bag was “in line with other retailers”.

In response to our question about where the money from the sale of the bags went, a spokesperson said: “Iceland continues to comply with all legal requirements under government legislation. »

Spar told us that its plastic bags cost 20p each and the money made from the bags is put back into the local community through company-owned stores.

But its spokesperson said independent stores had the choice of donating to charity or keeping it.

Asda said its lifetime bags cost 40p.

An Asda spokesperson said: “Our bags for life are designed so customers can reuse them multiple times when shopping, helping them save more and reduce their use of plastic.

“These bags are built to last – but where bags are damaged, we continue to honor our promise to replace any bag free of charge for life if customers return them to us. »

They did not specify what they were spending the money from the sale of the bags on.

Aldi’s plastic bags start at 30p with options including a compostable carrier bag and an eco-friendly loop carrier bag, made from in-store plastic waste.

All funds raised from the sale of compostable bags are donated to charitable initiatives.

The Co-Op compostable bags cost 10p and say 100% of profits from sales are donated to good causes.

Unlike other stores, which mainly sell lifetime bags, it stopped producing lifetime bags in April 2021.

The company claims to have done this because these bags have a significant carbon footprint and, following the imposition of fees on carrier bags, research showed that sales of these bags increased and were treated as ” single use”.

Lidl says its bags for life start at 30p per bag, with part of the profits reinvested in new initiatives to reduce plastic packaging and tackle plastic waste.

Sainsbury’s bags for life also cost 30p. A spokesperson said all profits from bag sales are used to support organizations in the communities it serves and sources from, including Comic Relief and the British Red Cross.

Tesco says it does not sell “single-use bags” and its lifetime bags start at 30p.

She says she doesn’t directly tie her charitable donations to bag sales because these can fluctuate, and she hopes that over time the number of bags sold will decrease.

But he said a recent Charities Aid Foundation report found Tesco donated the highest percentage of its pre-tax profits of any FTSE100 company.

Marks and Spencer and Waitrose did not respond to our request for information.