Tesco announces carrier bag changes

Wednesday, August 9, 2017 - 14:17 by Graham Miller

Supermarket giant, Tesco, has confirmed that it is killing off single use plastic carrier bags altogether, at least for those who visit its bricks and mortar stores. People who place orders for groceries via safe shopping online will still have the option to select this type of packaging, although fewer are choosing to do so and its time in circulation looks set to come to an end soon.

The Telegraph reports that this move has been made following a test run carried out at a handful of Tesco stores in Scotland, with the 5p basic bag being replaced with sturdier, multi-use bags, costing 10p a pop.

The ‘bag for life’ scheme which Tesco has operated for many years will roll out nationally over the next few weeks, with each 10p carrier being replaceable free of charge. Furthermore, the cash generated by the sale of these bags will be plumbed into a number of worthy causes across the country.

The difference for customers who prefer using safe shopping online to buy products from Tesco means that single use bags are still on the menu. But at the moment, around 57 per cent of e-commerce shoppers opt for bag-free delivery of their groceries.

Company spokesperson, Matt Davies, said that even with the significant dip in the number of carriers being used since the 5p charge was introduced two years ago, it was important to take steps to further drive down the number of potentially hazardous bags entering circulation.

Tesco is responsible for a much bigger share of the single use carrier bag market than its supermarket rivals, although this change to the bag for life approach will likely result in a re-shuffle. Asda and Sainsbury’s could overtake it if customer habits truly are changed by the new 10p bags.