10 years of the plastic bag charge in Scotland

It is mandatory for retailers to charge for single-use carrier bags but what they do with money is up to them.

When the charge was launched in 2014, more than 160 retailers, including Marks and Spencer, McDonald’s and The Co-operative Group, registered for Zero Waste Scotland’s carrier bag commitment., external

This meant that organisations agreed to donate profits from the charge to good causes – which may have included environmental ones.

They also agreed to report on how many bags they have sold and how they have used the money.

Between 2014 and 2017, clothing chain H&M chose Keep Scotland Beautiful to receive the funds it raised.

The charity said it used the money to support more than 200 communities, almost half of which were in the most deprived areas of Scotland, to clean up community spaces.

Chief executive Barry Fisher said: “There is no doubt that the introduction of a charge on single-use bags, had a positive impact.

“We’ve seen significant shifts in customer habits at supermarkets, and a reduction of littered bags in some locations was recorded after the first year.

“Additionally, the charge collected has, in many cases, been put to great use supporting environmental action.”