Morrisons has confirmed a refund policy that will see shoppers recoup money spent on carrier bags. The supermarket giant currently levies a 10p charge per carrier bag when delivering groceries, in line with Government regulations that stipulate a minimum bag price.
However, customers who receive their shopping via Morrisons deliveries will be able to claim this back by returning the bags to their delivery driver, reports the Express. 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."
Morrisons operates 420 stores across the UK, handling nationwide online home deliveries. Bag charge rules were introduced in October 2015, initially setting a 5p fee per bag. In England, Wales and Scotland this has since 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, spoil the countryside, and pose a threat to wildlife. According to BBC figures, nearly 6.3 billion bags were used in 2010, rising sharply to 7.64 billion by 2014.
Yet by 2023, Government data 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 proceeds 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."
