Bags more cash for good causes in Wales

The Co-operative Group has announced it will reinvest the profits from its entire carrier bag range in Wales in good causes. This follows the announcement of similar schemes launched...

The Co-operative Group has announced it will reinvest the profits from its entire carrier bag range in Wales in good causes.

This follows the announcement of similar schemes launched by the organisation across the Isle of Man and in Northern Ireland last month.

The Group already uses the existing statutory 5p charge on single-use bags in Wales to support local conservation programmes, such as the Welsh Wildlife Heroes programme, but now expects to raise an additional hundreds of thousands of pounds in the next 12 months from the sales of its new reusable large and small woven shopping bags, fold-away bags and re-designed 10p bag for life.

All of the money raised from the bags will be reinvested in Welsh community projects. The criteria and application process for organisations wishing to bid for the additional funding generated by bag sales will be confirmed later in 2015.

There are more than 150 Co-operative Group food stores in Wales which will all be selling the bags. Matthew Speight, the Co-operative Food’s divisional managing director for the country, said: “While we share the aspiration of continuing to reduce the numbers of single-use plastic carrier bags that are in circulation, by buying any of our new range of carriers, customers will not only be contributing to the environment, but they’ll be helping good causes in Wales as well.”

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