M&S to charge for small plastic bags, with more eco-initiatives on the horizon

Monday 19 February 2018

Marks & Spencers are going to start charging 5p for single use plastic bags, frequently used by customers buying lunch.

The move is part of efforts to encourage customers to use their own reusable bags.

It has also pledged to donate 100% of the money raised through the sale of bags to local environmental and community projects, though it added that the effort was not about raising money, but about reducing the unnecessary use of plastic bags.

Peter Creasey, Managing Director, said: “We all need to do more to reduce the amount of plastic entering the waste stream. These flimsy bags are generally used once and are impossible to recycle.  I really hope our customers will quickly remember to bring a reusable bag with them every time they shop with us".

The company also said it was looking at other opportunities to reduce its use of plastics. It comes as other island supermarkets have been making announcements about their new initiatives to reduce their own plastic waste, with Waitrose pledging to remove all black plastic from its own brand packaging by the end of 2019, and Iceland have also promised to remove plastic entirely from its products.

"Since the problems of plastic waste were so vividly highlighted in the recent BBC series ‘Blue Planet II’ we realised we needed to be more proactive in this area," Mr Creasey said.

"We will be investigating a move to paper bags in many areas of our retail business and we have stopped selling and using plastic straws.  I understand that consumers will still have some concerns regarding excessive and unnecessary packaging but I sincerely believe we are at a tipping point and we will soon notice significant changes in the way food products are packaged."

Marks & Spencer already charges 5p for standard plastic bags.

The new charge will come into effect on 1 March.