Listen to this!! Tesco, Wal-Mart and J Sainsbury, the three biggest U.K. supermarket chains by sales, pledged to cut in half the number of disposable plastic bags they hand out to consumers. The agreement was reached with the government as part of a drive to cut waste that can spoil the landscape and endanger marine life. It’s the latest step in a U.K. movement to slash plastic bag use. This began in May 2007 when the retailers in Modbury, stopped giving them out.
Tesco, Asda and Sainsbury’s were joined by four other retailers and supermarket chains in signing the voluntary agreement: Marks & Spencer Group Plc, Co-operative Group Ltd., Somerfield Plc and Waitrose Ltd., the government said.
If successful, the agreement will cut enough waste to fill 60 Olympic-sized swimming pools by spring compared with 2006, when about 13 billion bags were used by British consumers, the government said. The government also said it plans to pursue a 70 percent reduction target “in the longer term” without being more precise.
Retailers have already been reducing the use of disposable bags by a variety of methods. Marks and Spencer on May 6 started charging 5 pence (8 U.S. cents) for each plastic bag used by customers when buying food. Tesco awards so-called Green Clubcard Points to customers who bring in their own bags. Those points can then be redeemed for goods sold in the store.
Modbury’s retailers were persuaded to give up single-use shopping bags after documentary maker Rebecca Hosking showed them footage of seabirds choking on plastic waste in the Pacific Ocean. Since then, more than 120 towns and villages from Cornwall to Scotland have pledged to abandon the use of disposable bags, according to the Marine Conservation Society, a charity that campaigns to clean up U.K. beaches.
I wish every country in the world begins to take concrete steps to a cleaner environment. We at Kope Initiatives, would love to play a small part in it. If you have a plan, speak to us, we'll be happy to work with you.
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