Paying for carrier bags in supermarkets?

Question

In the UK, there are plans to start making people pay for plastic bags when they do their shopping, to encourage people to re-use bags, or use alternative bags to plastic carrier bags. I have just been into a major supermarket chain to ask where the money will go that is charged for the bags, and they could not tell me. I know it's only a few pence per bag, but the average family shop uses about 5 - 10 bags. Now if each week, 10 million families shop with just one supermarket chain (which they do) and spend 25p on 5 bags at 5p each, this means that the supermarket chain stands to pocket a minimum of £2.5 million pounds every week aditional income for doing nothing.

Does anyone happen to know what will happen to this money and where do you think it should go?. In my view, it should be given to charitable projects.

Also, if the money made does not have to go into charitable environmental projects, do you think that people should pester the government to make this happen??

Answer 1

It will go into what is known in the business as profit.

I have always felt the the stores should pay us to use their plastic bag because of the advertising logo on them provides the store with free publicity.

They have woken up to the fact that in the supermarkets anyway most of us just put them in out cars so it is not much to their advantage.

The problem then is to get rid of them saving the store money  and what has come in to aid them, the environment.  I give them full credit for using this as an excuse to withdraw something and possibly increasing or at worst without loosing it.

Answer 2

I totaly agree!

Money made should go to charity.

Answer 3

Get the facts.  Read more below.

Answer 4

I can guess.  More profits for bosses and shareholders.

Also we will have to buy bin liners (those of us that use a plastic carrier in the kitchen bin).  More profit and ?tax for the government to waste if they are 'vattable'!!

Answer 5

i totally agree, good question,

Answer 6

What they should do with this money is reduce the price of fuel! Then the consumer is getting something back for recycling rather that the government and big businesses pocketing it all.