McInnes applauds M&S carrier bag success

12.00.00pm UTC (GMT +0000) Tue 29th Jul 2008

Aberdeenshire MSP Alison McInnes has praised Marks & Spencer (M&S) on the success of its carrier bag charging scheme.

She said: "Since introducing the 5p nominal charge in May, M&S have slashed the number of disposable bags used by 80%. They've raised significant sums for regeneration projects with the revenue collected, and I believe they have set an excellent example."

Liberal Democrat MSPs in the Scottish Parliament have called for a mandatory levy on disposable plastic bags.

A Scottish Executive study in 2005 found that imposing a levy on plastic and paper disposable bags would reduce annual household waste in Scotland by 4993 tonnes.