Upmarket retailer Ocado is to start charging their customers 5p for plastic carrier bags, following legislation set out by Defra that takes effect from October 5.
The online grocer sent an email to their shoppers to alert them to the new Government ruling.
The proceeds from the bags will go towards “good causes” including their bag recycle bonus, where customers will be given 5p in exchange for any carrier bags they give back to Ocado to recycle.
Suzanne Westlake, head of corporate responsibility at Ocado, told The Mirror, “With our natural advantage in this area, our business model is built around efficiency and low waste.
We’ve been operating a closed loop recycling scheme for many years now and our drivers have always taken back plastic bags – both our own and others – during a delivery, which we then make into new bags.”
From October 5, any retailer with more than 250 employees nationwide will have to impose a 5p charge for plastic bags.
