The Royal Society for the Protection of Birds has entered into a £2m partnership with supermarket giant Aldi, which will see the charity receive all profits from plastic bag sales as of next month.
The three year partnership comes as the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs introduces a minimum 5p charge for single use carrier bags in a bid to reduce consumer usage and protect the environment.
The Welsh government introduced a plastic bag levy in 2011, and Scotland and Northern Ireland have already followed suit.
Aldi will donate profits for sales of carrier bags in England and Wales to the RSPB from July, with proceeds from sales in Scotland to be donated from the beginning of next year.
The profits from sales of carrier bags in England and Wales are expected to raise in excess of £2m for the charity over a three year period.
Money raised in the partnership will go towards helping connect more than half a million children to nature. The charity will use the money to extend its Giving Nature a Home pilot in Cardiff, which has so far connected over 3,000 children with nature. The project, delivered in partnership with City of Cardiff Council, has recruited 39 volunteers to work with schools to improve school grounds.
As part of its 25th anniversary celebrations, Aldi, in partnership with the RSPB, is planning to create 25 RSPB ‘Giving Nature a Home’ gardens in schools. These will provide children “with the opportunity for hands-on learning experiences and the ability to connect with nature”. Schools will be invited to take part in a competition to set-up the gardens.
Katie-jo Luxton, RSPB Cymru director, said: “Wales’s wildlife is in serious trouble, with around 60 per cent of bees, birds, bugs and mammals declining and the natural places they depend on vanishing around us. Inspiring the next generation about nature is vital. Our partnership with Aldi will enable us to expand our current work in urban green spaces and in schools, allowing us to connect children with nature, and inspire the next generation of conservationists.”
Aldi has always charged for its carrier bags since first opening in the UK in 1990 in an effort to reduce its environmental impact. The price per bag will increase from 3p to 5p next month, when profits from single use bags in England and Wales will also start going to the RSPB.
Giles Hurley, managing director of corporate buying at Aldi, said: “It is an honour to partner with the RSPB. They are the UK’s biggest nature conservation charity, playing an important role in protecting our wildlife. Our partnership will leave a long-lasting legacy; a generation of children who are connected to nature, benefit from it, value our wildlife and care and understand enough about it to make a real difference.”
