More than £1m has been raised for charities from the carrier bag charge since it was introduced six months.
The figures have been published by Zero Waste Scotland, which launched a transparency scheme encouraging retailers to share how much they raise.
The charge for single-use carrier bags came in into force in Scotland on 20 October 2014 and early figures show that carrier bag usage has reduced by 80 per cent. Figures for Asda, the Co-operative Food, Marks and Spencer and Morrisons suggest more than £1m has been raised so far.
Asda has raised £350,000 for Social Investment Scotland and Foundation Scotland and the Co-operative Food has raised £375,000 for community projects in Scotland. Marks and Spencer has raised £214,374 with WWF and the Marine Conservation Society set to receive £88,446 each and £37,482 has been set aside for local charities. Morrisons is raising money for the Morrisons Foundation and said that its figures were in line with the levels reported by other retailers.
Zero Waste Scotland, which is funded by the Scottish Government to deliver its waste reduction programme, also published the other 50 founding signatories to its Carrier Bag Commitment, which means that they will share the amount raised by the charge and which charities have benefitted.
Ian Gulland, chief executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: “Over the past six months, we’ve seen an incredible change to shopping habits in Scotland. Shoppers have embraced the 5p charge and rapidly reduced their consumption of single-use carrier bags more readily than we ever hoped.
“I’d like to thank all the founding signatories published today, to our Carrier Bag Commitment, and urge more retailers to join them. Initial feedback from signatories suggests that more than £1m has been raised for good causes in Scotland and by embracing the 5p single-use bag charge, businesses and shoppers are helping reduce waste and repair the damage already done. We can all be proud of that.”
Other retailers already signed up to the scheme include Alliance Boots, Salvation Army, Scottish SPCA and Waitrose. Tesco and Sainsburys have not signed up to the scheme. The full list is available here.
