Beat The 5p Bag Charge
With the new 5p bag tax to be implemented on 5th October, Trolley Bags – a reusable bag system designed to take the hassle out of the supermarket shop – is a product that has come to the fore as an user friendly, environmentally beneficial and cost effective solution for shoppers.
As the figures of single use bags issued per year in the UK mounts to over 8.5 billion*, it is now a national priority to change retailer and consumer behaviour and the Government bag tax should get everyone thinking more about the effect on the environment and how they shop – opting for a reusable bag to save on waste and on cost.
The bag tax has already been implemented in other areas of the UK, with an initial 71% drop in carrier bag usage in Northern Ireland after the charge was introduced in 2013, a fall in Wales by 78.2% since 2010 and an 80% decrease in Scotland subsequent to introduction last year.**
An alternative to the plastic carrier bag is the Trolley Bag system, a series of four bags that spreads out to fill the trolley, with its plastic arms resting on the sides, giving the shopper a series of large, open and upright bags. Joby Cronkshaw, managing director of Trolley Bags, says: “Trolley Bags were launched to make the supermarket shop, particularly the dreaded bag pack, stress free. But, the new tax also highlights another benefit of the bag, which is its reusability.”
Joby explains:
“By its very nature the Trolley Bag system is reusable and user friendly. It is designed to be taken into the supermarket conveniently rolled up and ready to be racked out into an empty trolley. Once in the trolley the system provides 4 open upright bags of varying colours and sizes leaving the customer two hands free to pack and sort their shopping.
Most shoppers confess to stashing carrier bags and standard reusable bags, resulting in a bag of bags, a draw of bags, even a cupboard full of bags from past shopping trips, with the aim of using them again. But, even with the best intentions at heart, very few people remember to reuse these on a second outing as the packing process is made no easier with traditional reusable bags. With the Trolley Bag System there is a genuine benefit to the customer in terms of time spent packing which makes them an important part of any shopping trip”
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