Lack of publicity over England's shops charging 5p a bag

Nick_C

This new law had been brought in because the Government want to drastically reduce the number of Single Use Carrier Bags that shops - principally supermarkets - provide.

Sainsbury's are going one better than the other supermarkets. Instead of reducing the number of bags by 80%, they are reducing it by 100%. No one should be unhappy with that.

I don't like the idea of having to pay for a carrier bag if I forget one, but if I have to pay 5p I would rather get a long life bag that I can use over and over again but which is small enough to fold up and slip into a pocket. If I buy a Sainsbury's bag, I'm getting something that is a quality product and which is worth about 3p instead of a flimsy one worth less than a penny. I will be a happy customer.

You are less likely to throw away a robust Sainsbury's carrier after using it once than you are a cheap flimsy one.

Sainsbury's have got this absolutely right.

The law in England Wales & Scotland does not allow the governments to tell the retailers what they must do with the money they make from selling plastic bags. The guidelines say the governments expect retailers to give the money to "good causes" - not charities - but that is not what the law says.

But of course Sainsbury's have been supporting charities and good causes for a long time, and will continue to do so. To quote from their web site;

We focus on health, food, families and children, with a particular emphasis on healthy eating and active lifestyles. A good example is our Active Kids scheme, where we’ve now donated over £100 million of sports equipment, kit and coaching to UK schools, nurseries, Scout and Girl Guide groups since its launch in 2005.

Our corporate charity partner is Comic Relief. We’ve already helped to raise over £30 million for the charity and are committed to supporting their activities until 2017. Sainsbury’s is also one of the few supermarkets to regularly donate food to charitable organisations, including FareShare and the Salvation Army.

All our stores also have a local charity they support throughout the year. They also have a small budget for making donations of raffle prizes or vouchers and can sometimes help with events in store such as bag packing. Contact your local store, by phone only, for more information.

It's all part of our aim to make a positive difference in our communities.

I wonder if HMG will be donating the extra VAT that this will raise to "good causes"? I expect them to! LOL

Nick_C

JReacher1 wrote: »

No no no no....

The word tax is just an easy way of referring to the charge as for all intents and purposes a 5p charge on a carrier bag is a consumer tax.

Yes yes yes yes yes.

Using the word "tax" to refer to the minimum 5p price of a single use carrier bag is misleading and inaccurate. It is a tax (a levy) in Northern Ireland but not in the rest of the UK.

Using inaccurate language like this reinforces people's misconceptions. I'm sure many people think the entire 5p will go to good causes.

JReacher1

Nick_C wrote: »

Yes yes yes yes yes.

Using the word "tax" to refer to the minimum 5p price of a single use carrier bag is misleading and inaccurate. It is a tax (a levy) in Northern Ireland but not in the rest of the UK.

Using inaccurate language like this reinforces people's misconceptions. I'm sure many people think the entire 5p will go to good causes.

No No No No.....

As the charge is government imposed and the "guidelines" are that the retailer cannot profit from this charge then it is not inaccurate language.

The main retailers e.g. Tesco are donating all the money raised to charity (with the exception of VAT).

Nick_C

The government has imposed a minimum price.

The Scottish Government wants to impost a minimum unit price for alcohol. Would you describe that as a tax?

May I suggest you look up a definition of "tax". I just did and the first one that came up is "a compulsory contribution to state revenue".

The only tax involved here is the VAT which is going to the Government and not "good causes".

The guidelines are irrelevant. All that matters is the law.

And can you justify your claim about Tesco? Because their website says "Proceeds generated from the charge, excluding VAT and reasonable costs, will be donated ..."

JReacher1

Nick_C wrote: »

The government has imposed a minimum price.

The Scottish Government wants to impost a minimum unit price for alcohol. Would you describe that as a tax?

May I suggest you look up a definition of "tax". I just did and the first one that came up is "a compulsory contribution to state revenue".

The only tax involved here is the VAT which is going to the Government and not "good causes".

The guidelines are irrelevant. All that matters is the law.

And can you justify your claim about Tesco? Because their website says "Proceeds generated from the charge, excluding VAT and reasonable costs, will be donated ..."

I read the Tesco thing in a newspaper (maybe the metro) so have no link to say that it was true.

I wouldn't describe the minimum alcohol charge as a tax because the proceeds of the charge benefit the store who charges the increased price. For the 5p charge the store is "encouraged" to not financially benefit from the charge by giving the money to charity. Although no law forces them to do this the court of public opinion will mean that no major retailer will dare to not give a sizeable chunk of this 5p charge for single use bags to charity.

The major retailers would much prefer not to have to impose this charge.

System

JReacher1 wrote: »

These shops that are switching normal carrier bags to bags for life are actually using a loophole that means they don't have to donate to charity. They do this because the bags for life exceed the quality threshold for plastic bags so they don't have to pay the tax on them. Therefore the 5p can go straight to the shop.

Basically they're rats.

The Telegraph done this to Sainsburys. My friend that works for them says not to believe the media. Anyway, the media haven't got any figures to suggest this. All proceeds go to the community fund which primarily goes to the individual stores local charity of the year and other local smaller charities. For example, one of the local charities that one of the stores supports is a child bereavement charity which has just a dozen volunteers.

She has had a few grumbles from customers about this.

System

I live in a flat with a communal bin area. Put some rubbish in the bin and saw two new Sainsburys 5p bags with rubbish in them.

Do these tenants know it's cheaper to buy bin liners?

These tenants visit my shop and never bring any bags of their own.

How thick are these tenants? Most of them don't work and just breed children like rabbits

barmonkey

Nick_C wrote: »

And can you justify your claim about Tesco? Because their website says "Proceeds generated from the charge, excluding VAT and reasonable costs, will be donated ..."

In Wales on some occasions the reasonable costs have been much more than the donation

wealdroam

ScarletMarble wrote: »

I live in a flat with a communal bin area. Put some rubbish in the bin and saw two new Sainsburys 5p bags with rubbish in them.

Do these tenants know it's cheaper to buy bin liners?

These tenants visit my shop and never bring any bags of their own.

Wouldn't it be neighbourly to point out to them how they could save money?

dodger1

Warning, extreme language, don't watch if four letter words offend you, 5p bag rant,

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TcXI8bG9Y_A