ASDA confirmed today it wants to discourage customers from using free, single trip plastic carrier bags by introducing a new range of 'bags for life' in all of its 307 stores nationwide*.
The new durable bags are designed for repeated use and will cost just 5p each with a penny of that going to charity. They will be replaced free of charge by ASDA when they reach the end of their working life - hence the name 'bags for life'.
The supermarket has also pledged to recycle any 'bags for life' customers return to the store to prevent them ending up in landfill sites.
Ian Bowles, environment manager at ASDA said: "It's simply not sustainable for shoppers to carry on throwing away billions of plastic bags each year. That's why we intend to encourage our customers to switch to using durable, 'bags for life' instead.
"Our new bags cost just 5p each, with a penny of that going to charity. We will replace them for free if they break and we'll recycle any they bring back to prevent any more plastic ending up in landfill sites."
Last month ASDA announced it will stop sending any waste to landfill sites by 2010. The commitment means that by 2010 everything the supermarket disposes of at the back of its stores will be recycled, reused or composted instead of being sent to landfill.
It has also embarked on a complete review of its own label packaging to reduce the amount of household rubbish shoppers throw away each year. All of the products it sells (under the ASDA brand) will be redesigned over the next 18 months, with the aim of reducing the weight and volume of packaging it produces by at least ten per cent.
