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The British public has delivered an overwhelming snub to
the UK government's push to introduce a plastic bag levy at
supermarkets to tackle climate change.
An exclusive survey for The Times - conducted by Populus
- has revealed that shoppers would rather see throw-away plastic
bags scrapped altogether, than pay any charge at all, however
small. The vast majority - 72 per cent - believe that incentives
such as offering reward points at the checkout are the best
way to effect a change in behaviour.
Tesco championed this approach when it was pilloried last
month for refusing to follow Marks & Spencer and introduce
a 5p fee at the till. M&S will start to charge customers
in its food halls next month.
Alistair Darling told supermarkets in last month's UK budget
that he expected them either to abolish plastic bags or to
start charging, to encourage a switch to green alternatives.
Nearly 13 billion plastic bags are handed-out at tills every
year and the UK Chancellor said that legislation would be
introduced if the supermarkets failed to force a change in
behaviour through their own initiative.
The Times' survey also reveals that shoppers want
supermarkets to tackle all packaging waste, rather than focus
squarely on carrier bags. Nearly 70 per cent said that they
wanted Britain's big grocers to commit themselves to removing
all packaging on all fruit and vegetables - up from 60 per
cent a year ago.
Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco's chief executive, has argued that
shoppers need to be encouraged to change their behaviour rather
than be forced to do so. Tesco awards 'green Clubcard points'
to customers who re-use bags, regardless of what store they
come from. It has cut the number that it gives away at the
checkout by 1.3 billion since August 2006.
A spokesman said - "We have proved what can be achieved
through offering the carrot rather than the stick - and that,
for us, is the way ahead."
Tesco is still seen as being far less effective in tackling
social and environmental issues than its leading rivals. The
Co-op is judged the most successful in addressing issues -
such as working conditions, carbon footprint and its general
use of resources.
M&S is voted second after the high-profile launch of
its environmental action plan - 'Plan A' - a year ago.
This contains 100 pledges - including commitments to stop
sending waste to landfill and to become carbon neutral by
2012. An M&S spokeswoman insisted recently that the retailer
still believed it was right to introduce a charge for plastic
bags, pointing to the results of a trial in the South West
of England and in Ireland - where usage was cut by 70 per
cent and there was no impact on business. She added that,
from now, customers would be given a free 'bag for life'.
Giles Gibbons, head of Good Business, the environmental consultancy,
said of The Times' survey - "These results show that
people simply do not like being told what to do - or, what
not to do. Taking bags away altogether sounds drastic - but,
like the smoking ban, if people are given long enough to prepare,
it can work."
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