Common Action Scotland

Press Release – 5 August 10 – page 1 of 2

Tesco, Sainsburys, ASDA and Morrisons refuse to disclose publicly how many plastic carrier bags they use each year. Estimates suggest 5 billion plastic bags between them.

In June and July community campaign group Common Action Scotland contacted the largest UK food retailers to ask how many plastic carrier bags they used in the UK last year. Four retailers, Tesco, Sainsburys, ASDA and Morrisons, refused to provide their figures publicly. Three retailers, The Cooperative Group, Marks & Spencer and Waitrose, provided figures.

Common Action spokesperson Lindsay Keenan commented: “The four retailers who are responsible for the highest annual use of plastic bags, an estimated 5 billion plastic bags per year between them, are trying to hide the facts of this environmental abuse from the public”.

The last years figures that we know are The Cooperative including Somerfield 620 million (0.62 billion), Marks & Spencer 240 million (0.24 billion), Waitrose not including John Lewis 200 million (0.20 billion). The figures we have a good indication of from research and discussions with people in the companies are ASDA in the region of 1400 million (1.4 billion) and Morrisons in the region of 1100 million (1.1 billion). Accurate we believe to within 100 million for both. The figures about which we can only guess are for Tesco who were using 4000 million (4 billion) in 2006 and who pledged a 50% reduction to 2000 million (2 billion) by now and for Sainsburys who were using 1600 million (1.6 billion) in 2006 and who also pledged a 50% reduction to 800 million (0.8 billion) by now.

Tesco, Sainsburys, ASDA and Morrisons hide behind an agreement to provide the information to the government sponsored Waste and Resources Action Program (WRAP). WRAP however only provides a combined annual total and does not disclose the figures for individual companies, so these four retailers plastic bag use figures remain hidden.

WRAP are due to publish figures this month to measure progress towards a 50% reduction on retailers 2006 usage by June 2009 and an aspirational 70% reduction “over the longer term”. (1) Whilst WRAPs 2010 figures are expected to show reductions by all seven companies the total is anticipated to remain unacceptably high at 5 and 6 billion bags with Tesco, Sainsburys, ASDA and Morrisons accounting for an estimated 5 billion bags between them.

Keenan contd: “We await the WRAP total with interest however it is already clear that 5 or 6 billion bags annual is outrageous and unnecessary and that much more needs to be done. Common Action does not support a plastic bag tax on consumers favoring instead a tax on these retailers profits or a fine for polluting the environment until they improve. Alternatively the voluntary option we favor is an option some retailers have explored on a very small scale so far, which is to hand out free sustainably produced fairly traded organic cotton or jute bags. These genuinely sustainable and better quality bags are much more suitable for re-use than the thicker plastic bags which most retailers currently push as the alternative to thinner plastic bags. Retailers could between them hand out 125 million of these bags for free, roughly two for every UK citizen. The regular re-use of those would massively reduce the use of both thick and thin plastic bags, would help change consumer habits and would provide important sustainability benefits for farmers in developing countries. Why don’t they try it?

For more information: Lindsay Keenan - Office: 0141 577 0057 Mobile: 0750 392 0125

Contact details for retailer and WRAP spokespersons are included on page 2 of press release
Common Action Scotland

Press Release – 5 August 10 – page 2 of 2

Notes:
1) WRAPS 2009 figures can be seen on their website at
 http://www.wrap.org.uk/media_centre/press_releases/new_figures_show.html

Note that the WRAP figures can be confusing. Some points to understand about them include

a) WRAP and some retailers prefer to discuss the figures by comparing use in May one year with use in May the next year. That allows them to discuss hundreds of millions of bags as if that was the annual total. Don’t be fooled. The important figure is the total annual use.

b) WRAP figures (and the ones we use above) are for single use plastic carrier bags only. They do not include the thicker plastic bags, the inappropriately named ‘bags for life’.

c) The seven retailers referred to in the 2009 WRAP report includes Somerfield separately but does not include Morrisons who did not want to participate in the voluntary agreement at that time. Somerfield are now part of the Cooperative and the figures supplied to Common Action by the Cooperative include the figures for Somerfield. Morrisons have recently decided to rejoin the WRAP agreement and have informed us that they recently submitted figures which will be included in the WRAP results due out this month. That will make direct comparison of this years figure with last years figure difficult unless WRAP provides clear details.

2) When discussing alternatives such as the use of fairly traded organic cotton or jute bags some retailers will try to give the impression that environmental life cycle assessments show that using thicker plastic bags and having those subsequently recycled is the best environmental option. The reality however is that current life cycle assessments specifically ignore and do not provide figures for the use of fairly traded organic cotton bags and would anyway ignore the massive social and environmental benefits of a switch by farmers in developing countries away from chemical dependant cotton production to fair trade organic.

Contact details for retailers who would not publicly confirm their figures and for WRAP

ASDA
Karen Todd
Tel: 0113 243 5435
Email:  Karen.Todd@asda.co.uk

Morrisons
Steven Butts – Head of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)
Tel: 0845 611 5370
Reception: 0845 611 5000
Email:  steven.butts@morrisonsplc.co.uk

Sainsbury’s
Jack Cunningham - Environmental Affairs Manager

Tel: 020 7695 4893
Mobile: 07769 163 524
Email:  jack.cunningham@sainsburys.co.uk

Tesco
Felix Gummer – Head of Corporate Social Responsibility dept
Tel: 01992 806 892 (department number)
Email:  Felix.Gummer@uk.tesco.com

WRAP - www.wrap.org.uk
Claire Barker - PR Manager
01295 819 677 or 01295 819 695
Email:  press.office@wrap.org.uk
(If outside business hours, call 07951 346 196)

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