Supermarket chains have narrowly missed a target to halve the number of plastic bags given to customers.
Seven chains signed up to a voluntary agreement last year, which aimed for a 50% cut in the amount of bags issued, compared with 2006.
In May 2006, 718M bags were being given out, but by May 2009, this had almost halved to 372M, which amounts to a reduction of 48%. In Scotland, the reduction was 49%, representing 39M bags less in May 2009 compared with the same month in 2006.
Environment secretary, Hilary Benn, praised the efforts of retailers, and looked forward to further reductions. ‘This is a great achievement and it shows that by working together, we can change habits,’ he said.
The British Retail Consortium believes consumer behaviour has now changed, helped by supermarkets giving out free, reusable bags and awarding loyalty points to customers reusing bags.
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