Plastic bag fee at Tesco to fund green projects

Environmental charity,Groundwork, will oversee the administration of local community schemes funded by carrier bag charges at Tesco.

From the beginning of October customers at all large UK shops have been charged 5p for each single-use carrier bag they use during their shopping trip as part of a new Government scheme.

The money raised from the 5p bag charge will be used to pay for a large number of local environmental improvement projects in communities right across the UK. The kinds of projects that will get the green light as a result of the funding will include building new pocket parks, sports facilities, woodland walks and community gardens.

Graham Duxbury, Groundwork UK chief executive, said: “The bag charge is all about making sure we do what we can to create a better environment. Using the proceeds of the charge to help people improve parks and green spaces on their doorstep doubles the benefit.

“There are so many benefits to be gained from making sure people have well designed, well managed green space near to where they live. People are healthier because they can exercise in the fresh air, grow their own food or just get away from the hustle and bustle of the city.

"Communities are stronger because people get to know their neighbours and families have more places to have fun together. Local green spaces can also help tackle bigger issues – increasing biodiversity and reducing the impacts of climate change.

“We’re delighted to be working alongside Tesco stores and customers to bring these benefits to thousands of communities across the UK.”

Tesco customers will get the chance to vote in store and online for the projects they most want to go ahead in their own local areas. Six projects will receive funding in each of 432 regions annually, which means that around 2,500 different projects will receive funding from the bag charge after just one year.

The amount of funding available for individual local projects will range from £8,000 to £12,000.

Based on statistics from Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland - where a bag charge already exists - Tesco anticipates plastic carrier bag use in England to drop by nearly 70% as a result.

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