Morrisons has confirmed its carrier bag rule across all stores, offering customers a way to reclaim the cost of bags used in home deliveries. The supermarket giant currently charges 10p per carrier bag for grocery deliveries, in line with legislation mandating a minimum bag price.
How to Get a Refund
Customers receiving shopping via Morrisons home delivery can claim this charge back by handing the bags to their delivery driver upon collection. The Morrisons website states: "It is a legal requirement for us to charge for carrier bags. In the areas that we deliver shopping in carrier bags, they are charged at 10p each. You can however hand your carrier bags back to the driver and the charge will be refunded on your final receipt."
"If your shipping is delivered in carrier bags, you can hand your bags back to the driver for recycling on your next delivery, and you will be reimbursed as we charge 10p per bag. Carrier bags that we take away are recycled so they can be used again."
Background on Carrier Bag Charges
Morrisons operates 420 stores across the UK, handling nationwide online home deliveries. Carrier bag charge regulations were introduced by different UK governments in recent years, initially setting a 5p fee per bag. In England, Wales and Scotland this has subsequently increased to a minimum of 10p, while in Northern Ireland the minimum stands at 25p per bag.
The charges were introduced to combat waste, with campaigners arguing that discarded bags blight streets, damage the countryside, and pose a threat to wildlife. According to BBC figures, nearly 6.3 billion bags were used in 2010, rising to 7.64 billion by 2014.
Data from 2023 revealed that the number of single-use supermarket plastic bags had plummeted by 98% since the measures were introduced. Supermarkets are urged to donate the revenue generated from the bag charge to worthy causes.
As reported in the Guardian, Steve Hynd of City to Sea, which is campaigning to end the use of disposable carrier bags, said: "The 98% reduction in single-use plastic bags shows inserting a plastic tax at the point of sale is a good policy for reducing consumer plastic bag use."
