Demand for plastic carrier bags in our shops has dropped by 95 per cent in the first 100 days since a five pence charge was introduced on the 1 May 2008. This equates to more than 325,000 plastic carrier bags saved from landfill.
Stuart Richards, Head of Commercial Operations, said:
'We’ve had a fantastic response since we introduced a charge for all plastic carrier bags. Sales of our jute bags have rocketed and we’ve noticed a big jump in the number of customers reusing their own bags.'
We have 220 shops in England, Wales and Northern Ireland. Before the charge was introduced our shops would give away 1.25 million bags every year.
Stuart Richards, continued: 'Such a dramatic drop in demand for plastic bags will help the National Trust cut its waste and reduce the amount of rubbish ending up in landfill sites. We’re working closely with our suppliers to cut the amount of packaging, waste and energy used in the products that we sell in our shops.'
New eco-friendly initiatives introduced into National Trust shops this summer include recycled paper bags, with specific information about recycling on them, and recycled tissue paper for wrapping fragile items sold in shops.
Wherever possible we work closely with our suppliers to make a difference, for example, one of our card suppliers is now committed to moving their packaging to recycled or compostable material.
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