UK supermarket chain Sainsbury’s has announced a ban on its disposable carrier bags in all of its stores for one day later this month.
In an attempt to help reduce waste the retailer will instead hand its customers free bags produced from 100 per cent recycled material that would usually cost 10p each.
Sainsbury’s hopes the 27 April ban will encourage shoppers to re-use the more environmentally friendly bags, called ‘bags for life’, in place of disposable bags in future visits.
Around 1.6 billion free disposable carrier bags are handed out each year by the UK’s third largest supermarket chain.
The company said more than seven million of the 10p reusable bags are expected to be given away during ban period, roughly the same amount it would normally sell in less than two years.
Gwyn Burr, Sainsbury’s customer director said, “Customers often want to do their bit, whether that’s to recycle more or cut down on carrier bags, but often don’t know where to start.”
“We want to make it as simple as we can for our millions of customers and thousands of colleagues to take action now.”
During 2006 Sainsbury’s saw a 25 per cent increase in customers using re-usable bags .
The chain has already launched new, orange carrier bags made from 43 per cent less raw plastic than standard carriers.
The grocery retailer recently launched a scheme that is believed to save around 6,500 tonnes of plastic each year by replacing its white carrier bags with new orange bags made from 33 per cent recycled material.
Sainsbury’s latest announcement is the latest in the current trend of ‘green’ innovations being introduced by supermarkets across the country.
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