Marks & Spencer, the UK retailer, has announced that it has slashed the usage of plastic bags by 80% by applying a surcharge to their use. The initiative, also adopted in varying guises by other British retailers, has been hearlded as a huge success. However, the UK remains a high user of plastic bags wiith each household still taking home 400 bags per year.
The success of this campaign, which is on going, and nationally is predicted to lead to further reductions in plastic bag usage, does beg the question
of what else can be done to reduce packaging at supermarkets and whether, supermarkets would be prepared to charge less for less packaging. All the major food chains in the UK package food, even vegetables, and very often several times over. If this packaing were to be reduced and savings passed onto the consumer, like plastic bags, there may be benefits all around. The emissions lifecycle of food would be reduced, there would be less wasted packaging for landfill or recycling and hopefully consumers may pay less. The balancing consideration might be an increase in food waste but that consideration should not be beyond the wit of a smart logistics manager.
