FairPrice to charge for plastic bags for a year at 25 outlets

FairPrice is extending its "no plastic bag" drive to 25 outlets for one year from next Monday, the supermarket giant said yesterday. The extension follows a month-long trial it conducted from Sept 16 to Oct 16 at seven outlets.

The 25 outlets that will be charging customers for plastic bags are 12 FairPrice supermarkets (including FairPrice Finest and FairPrice Xtra stores), five Cheers stores and eight FairPrice Xpress stores.

Customers at these outlets who require bags can purchase them at 20 cents for each transaction at FairPrice, FairPrice Finest and FairPrice Xtra, or at 10 cents for each transaction at Cheers and FairPrice Xpress.

The money will be donated to environmental and community causes.

FairPrice group chief executive Seah Kian Peng said that the "no plastic bag" trial was introduced to reduce excessive use of plastic bags and encourage a change in customer behaviour.

"We are heartened by the survey findings (from the trial), which showed that the majority of customers are receptive (to) a plastic bag charge. We also observed that more customers started to bring (their) own bags and showed greater awareness for the environment," he said.

FairPrice surveyed 1,745 customers during the month-long trial and found that 71.1 per cent supported charging for plastic bag use at supermarkets. These customers cited environmental concerns and waste reduction as reasons for supporting the initiative.

Those who did not agree with the initiative said that plastic bags were part of the expected store service and were also reused to line trash bins.

The initiative came on the back of previous efforts by supermarket chains to instil more environmentally friendly habits among consumers. In July, eight supermarket outlets placed donation bins around their premises to collect unused reusable bags. Bags in good condition were redistributed for use by shoppers.

For the list of outlets covered by the "no plastic bag" drive, go to https://bit.ly/36vc6Zr