Stores in Northern Ireland have reported a sharp drop in requests for plastic bags, just three weeks after the introduction of a 5p levy.
Most of the big supermarket chains are yet to report, apart from Asda who have said usage of bags is down 98%. Smaller stores have also seen a major decrease in the number of bags being requested.
Hendersons said they had detected a fundamental change in shopping habits within their Spar stores. Nigel Gray of the Henderson Group believed he had noticed "very immediate effects" resulting in 75% fewer bags being taken. He commented, "We've also seen the purchases of our bag for life increase dramatically. So in one week, we sold more bags for life than we sold in the whole of 2012."
A potential downside is a small drop-off in trade as some customers without bags will only buy what they can carry loose in their arms - but that is not expected to last. It was claimed that the new bag levy would cause confusion and would upset customers at tills as they refused to pay the 5p. However, the change appears to have been seamlessly introduced.
Newells supermarket has also seen demand for bags drop sharply. Brenda Taylor of the branch said, "I would say it is probably down more than half what it was before the bag levy came in. The people are bringing their own bags and they're maybe using boxes which they keep in the boot of their car. They take their groceries out in their trolley or basket and then transfer them into their own car."
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