Charges for carrier bags have been introduced in Scotland in an attempt to cut the number of carrier bags used. Similar schemes have been successful in Wales and Northern Ireland.
Over 800 million carrier bags were used last year by leading supermarket chains in Scotland, most of which are not reused and become litter, landfill waste or worse still, pollute marine and natural environments.
Usage of carrier bags in Northern Ireland and Wales dropped 70% after the same minimum 5p charge began to apply. This 5p charge covers all bags no matter the retailer or material the bag is made from.
Any profits made from the sale of carrier bags will go to the retailer, but there is a choice for each retailer to participate in a scheme to donate extra money made through carrier bag sales. This money can go to good causes in Scotland, including those that benefit the environment.
Retailers such as Marks and Spencer, Superdry and the Co-operative Group have all committed to donating their carrier bag profits. Tesco have gone as far as to take a public vote on a worthy cause, the winner of which was Keep Scotland Beautiful.
The Scottish environment secretary, Richard Lochhead, said: "Our carrier bag addiction is symptomatic of our throwaway culture and has serious implications for the environment."
Member of Scottish Parliament (MSP) and co-convenor of the Scottish Green party, Patrick Harvie, agreed with the measures taken but feels more action still needs to be taken. He commented: "We support the introduction of a small charge for the use of disposable plastic bags but would go further and support measures to reduce the amount of all disposable packaging currently in use. This problem needs to be tackled at its source."
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