Supermarket scheme shows every little helps

2:37pm Thursday 21st September 2006

Sutton shoppers have heaped bags of praise onto a new supermarket scheme which cuts down on plastic carriers.

Tesco has been awarding green clubcard points to shoppers who bring their own carrier bags to the supermarket. And at the Sutton store in Oldfields Road, customers have embraced this easy-to-execute environmental initiative.

Since the scheme was introduced on August 14 this year, 38,801 bags have been re-used at the store, which means a lot less plastic has been carted off to landfill sites.

A spokesman for Sutton's Tesco store said: "A lot of customers have been saying the scheme is great because they've always re-used bags and now they're getting something back for it."

Shoppers receive one green clubcard point for each carrier bag they re-use. Like normal clubcard points, the green points can be used to get money off shopping, or for Tesco deals on holidays, magazine subscriptions and gym membership, among other things.

The success of the scheme in Sutton seems to be mirrored all over London, with customers everywhere glad to do their bit to cut down on plastic pollution.

A Tesco spokesman said: "It's been really welcomed, we've been quite bowled over by the public's response. Feedback from shoppers and cashiers has been really positive."

Sutton's BioRegional Development Group at the BedZED Centre in Wallington commended the scheme introduced by the supermarket. But they suggested shoppers could still do more to protect the environment.

A spokesman said: "Tesco is making a positive step, as they're helping people to cut down on the 134 plastic bags that each person in the UK uses on average each year. However, it would be much better if people stopped using plastic bags altogether and used fabric carrier bags that can be used for years."

What's in a bag?

• An estimated 17.5billion plastic shopping bags are used by British customers every year, most of which end up on landfill sites rather than recycling bins. The environmental costs are huge; the destruction of such a large amount of bags itself causes pollution and the bags strangle and suffocate thousands of animals every year.
• As an alternative you can use eco-friendly cotton bags which are reusable over several years and can be disposed of with no negative effects on the environment.
• There are many online retailers that sell plain and designer cotton shopping bags, such as: bishopstrading.co.uk shoppingbagsdirect.com tree2mydoor.com/eco_friendly_bags omlet.co.uk wwf.org.uk