You are here: Responsible Retailing / B&Q saves 24.5 million carrier bags, exceeding government targets twice over
B&Q saves 24.5 million carrier bags, exceeding government targets twice over
Archived article dated Wednesday December 17th 2008
Government targets have been met twice over by leading home improvement store B&Q after it more than halved plastic carrier bag usage.
DEFRA and WRAP, (the Waste & Resources Action Programme) set retailers the target of reducing carrier bag usage by 25% by the end of 2008. B&Q has reduced usage by 57%, equating to a whopping 24.5 million individual bags saved.In the UK 12.4 billion bags are given away every year but a carrier bag only has a useful life of 20 minutes before it is dumped. B&Q has been running a trial charging customers in Scotland 5p per carrier bag since 2004 and customers in the North East have been charged 5p since 2005. Since the trials were introduced the retailer has donated over £50,000 to Keep Britain Tidy and Keep Scotland Beautiful campaigns. The company has subsequently rolled out the chargeable and sustainable bags to its other stores nationwide.
B&Q has seen a dramatic reduction in plastic bag usage since the introduction of the chargeable, more sustainable alternatives. Plastic bags have been binned nationally since September, when B&Q made a commitment to sell sustainable bags instead and only give away a small carrier bag to customers specifically requesting one. Customers can choose from four eco alternatives including the large and reusable Bag For Life, a boot liner, a wallpaper bag and a fabric, foldaway bag, with a solid base strong enough for a tin of paint. All B&Q's plastic bags contain post-consumer waste, such as milk cartons, meaning that 'virgin' plastic content has been halved.
Euan Sutherland, CEO, B&Q and Kingfisher UK Division said: “B&Q has a long history of sustainability and we've invested time in developing the right chargeable carrier bags for our customers. Plastic bags can cause real community and environmental problems as they significantly contribute towards litter problems and can also harm wildlife. At B&Q we have always believed that lots of small changes add up to a big difference and through our range of bag options we are urging customers to re-use bags wherever possible. We're delighted to be helping the environment by reducing the volume of plastic bags.” Long-lasting Bags for Life have been on sale since mid-September, quartering overall plastic bag consumption (76% reduction). The new Boot liner has also been extremely well received by customers, choosing to protect their cars from dirty goods such as compost and paint, as well as pets and walking boots.
Tagged as: B&Q | kingfisher | training | city and guilds
Share this article:
Should your colleagues be reading the Retail Bulletin?
Let them know about us.
