Date: 10 August 2006 20:10

PLASTIC REWARDS ARE IN THE BAG IN CAMBRIDGE

Waste chiefs will be helping shoppers get rewards by encouraging them to 
re-use carrier bags rather than binning them.

On Monday 14th August, Waste Officers from the Cambridgeshire and 
Peterborough Waste Partnership (RECAP) will be handing out cotton bags at 
Tesco Bar Hill near Cambridge.

From Monday Tesco shoppers nationwide can claim additional Club Card points 
by using reusable shopping bags. This could mean using one of the cotton 
bags or even re-using a rival supermarkets plastic bag.

Cambridgeshire residents can come along from 10am to 1pm to Bar Hill to 
collect as many bags as they need for their shopping and make sure they 
don't miss their chance to get more reward points at the popular 
supermarket.

The initiative to reduce the amount of plastic carrier bags used was 
announced on 4th of August by Sir Terry Leahy, Tesco CEO, who said: "Carrier 
bags are an important part of the shopping trip, providing convenience for 
millions of customers, especially those who walk to our stores. But we know 
many people are concerned about how many bags they use."

 It is estimated that around 17.5 billion plastic bags are used in the UK 
every year - that's about 290 plastic bags per person! Research also shows 
that plastic carrier bags are used in average for 20 minutes before being 
put in the bin.

Cambridgeshire County Council Waste Campaigns Officer, Victor Perez, said: 
"We're delighted to see retailers working harder to cut down on waste. We 
have always encouraged the reuse of carrier bags and run several awareness 
and educational campaigns with free cotton bags to make is as easy as 
possible. We expect residents to welcome this initiative from Tesco and reap 
the rewards both financially and environmentally.

"Choosing reusable carrier bags is a small change in our consumption habits 
but it will have a greater positive impact in our local and global 
environment, as not only will less resources be depleted to produce and 
transport plastic bags, but less waste will be generated at source. It also 
means that they do not end up in landfill."

Last year, Cambridgeshire County Council spent more than £7.3 million to 
dispose of residents'  waste. This is due to raise as landfill tax increases 
£3 per tonne every year and stringent legislation has set limits to the 
amount of waste that local authorities can landfill, with fines of £150 per 
tonne to authorities exceeding those limits.
Fact file:

1. Cambridgeshire and Peterborough Waste Partnership (RECAP) is made up by 
Cambridgeshire County Council, Cambridge City Council, East Cambridgeshire 
District Council, Fenland District Council, Huntingdonshire District 
Council, Peterborough City Council and South Cambridgeshire District 
Council.

2. The RECAP partnership gave away more than 25,000 reusable cotton shopping 
bags to reduce the number of plastic bags going to landfill in 2005.

3. The RECAP partnership was awarded Beacon Council Status for their 
innovative ways to reduce waste going to landfill. Awareness campaigns and 
educational activities were one of the areas highly commended by the judging 
panel.
Cambridgeshire County Council is the top Shire County in England with a 
recycling rate of 43.5% in 2005/6 - the average in the country is 23%.

John Reynolds