Supermarkets in England, which in early October became the last part of the UK to implement a 5p levy on carrier bags, have found a way to make paying the charge palatable to their customers. Not only do they get a bag – which in some cases may be durable enough to make more than one trip back to the store – they also get a chance to do something for their fellow citizens, and perhaps for themselves when they grow old, or for the environment.

While there is some lingering controversy over whether retailers must donate the proceeds after deducting the 0.83% in VAT owed the national Treasury, or whether they can keep the money, all of the major grocery chains have said they will donate to charity. Four large chains, including Asda, Iceland, Morrisons and Waitrose, have banded together to support the construction of a world-class dementia research centre in London. The facility will cost GBP 350m to build, but the project as of now is GBP 100m short.

Other chains, such as Tesco and Sainsbury, intend to let consumers choose a charity. Marks & Spencer said the proceeds would be shared between local charities and a selection of national groups. The UK subsidiary of German discount chain Aldi said it plans to donate proceeds to the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds. Other retailers have also picked multifarious environmental charities.

Household goods retailer Wilko, interestingly, is taking a step that dovetails nicely with the reason for the bag charge – reducing the burden of plastics waste on the environment. Wilko plans to donate a fifth of the proceeds from the bag charge to the UK’s Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP, Banbury; www.wrap.org.uk). In Wales, where a levy on plastic carrier bags has been in place since 2011, Wilko raised GBP 62,600 last year, which it split among five charities including Keep Wales Tidy. The amount raised in England is expected to be greater, due to the larger number of stores, it said.

Founded by the UK government in 2000, WRAP has become a leading adviser on corporate waste and resources policies. The organisation’s CEO, Liz Goodwin, said the fresh funding will provide a much needed boost to its efforts towards waste reduction and resource efficiency. “Securing this generous new stream of funding from Wilko will be a tremendous help towards furthering WRAP's charitable aims, helping to find new ways to move towards a more sustainable, resource-efficient world," she added. WRAP received a boost earlier when Tesco moved to include post-consumer plastic waste in its new carrier bags – see Plasteurope.com of 20.10.2015.