Supermarkets banish the plastic bag

Britain's biggest supermarkets say they are on course to reduce by half their use of plastic bags by Easter.

Tesco, Asda, Sainsbury's and Waitrose are making progress in cutting the number of free bags handed out to shoppers in a victory for The Independent campaign highlighting the environmental threat posed by packaging. Plastic bags are made using oil and take hundreds of years to degrade in landfill sites, often after a single use. An estimated 13 billion plastic bags are handed out by UK retailers every year.

In February last year, six trade associations and 22 leading shops agreed to cut the use of plastic bags by 25 per cent by the end of this year. The initiative was agreed with the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the public-funded anti-waste organisation Wrap, amid discussion of whether the Government should ban free carrier bags. Supermarkets have moved free bags behind the till and put up signs urging the use of "bags for life". Reporting their progress to MPs this week, the stores said they had succeeded in reducing the number of bags and would go beyond their original pledge.

Appearing before the Commons Environment and Rural Affairs Select Committee into waste management in England, Asda said it had achieved a 30 per cent cut so far. Justin Walker-Palin, Asda's head of sustainability and ethics, said cashiers had been told to discuss free bags with shoppers, adding: "We're aiming for a 50 per cent reduction by next Easter."

Thirty per cent fewer bags have been issued at Waitrose – 40 million less. Sainsbury's said it had cut free bags by 28 per cent, while reusable bag sales were up 200 per cent. Tesco expects to give away 50 per cent fewer bags than 2006 by the spring.

Asda told the committee that it had stopped 99 per cent of operational waste from going to landfill in two of its 353 stores by using all biodegradable waste to generate electricity. Tesco was cutting unnecessary road miles and using some alternatives to lorries such as canal barges and trains. Waitrose is aiming to cut CO2 from deliveries by 15 per cent from 2005 levels by 2013.

During the committee hearing, all parties agreed action should be taken to cut the amount of clothing going to landfill – in five years, the proportion of textiles in landfill has risen from 5 per cent to 30 per cent, a hike blamed on the "Primark effect" – low-quality fast fashion. The committee's report on waste will be published in January.

An environmental handful: Progress in the war on plastic bags

* Tesco said in August 2006 it had saved two billion bags since Green Clubcard Points were launched. Its carrier bag use is 40 per cent lower than two years ago.

* Since the Government set its bag target, Asda has seen a 30 per cent reduction in plastic carriers. Sales of bags-for- life have increased by 265 per cent.

* Between February and October this year, Waitrose gave out 68 million fewer bags than in the same period last year – around 30 per cent less.

* Sainsbury's has seen a 27 per cent reduction in free plastic bags up to June this year. Its year-on-year rise in the use of bags for life has been 200 per cent.