FairPrice extends No Plastic Bag initiative for another year
FairPrice will extend its No Plastic Bag pilot initiative for a year, starting today, following positive customer response.
Launched last November at 25 selected supermarkets and convenience stores, it has led to 15.6 million plastic bags saved, with about 7.8 million bring-your-own-bag transactions, said the supermarket chain yesterday.
Over the past year, about seven in 10 customers who shopped at participating supermarkets chose to bring their own bags or refused plastic bags, while close to nine in 10 customers brought their own bags or refused a bag at participating convenience stores.
Over the same period, about $600,000 was raised from the plastic bag charges of 20 cents per transaction at supermarkets and 10 cents at convenience stores.
Proceeds raised will go towards supporting environmental and community causes.
From today, there will be 11 FairPrice, FairPrice Finest and FairPrice Xtra supermarkets, 12 Cheers stores and one FairPrice Xpress store taking part.
FairPrice remains the only supermarket chain to continue charging for plastic bags at participating outlets.
Mr Seah Kian Peng, group chief executive of FairPrice Group, said in a statement: "The No Plastic Bag initiative is part of the FairPrice Plastic Bag Management Programme which aims to reduce excessive use of plastic bags and at the same time, encourage a behavioural change in customers.
"We are encouraged by the positive customer response garnered. The significant number of plastic bags saved in this short span of one year is a testimony of the greater public awareness for the environment."
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