Co-op hoping to bag up to £750k for charities

The community retailer said it hoped the move would raise as much as £750,000 in the next 12 months, with all the money being reinvested in community projects across Scotland. Picture: TSPL

The Co-operative Food in Scotland has vowed to hand the profits from its entire carrier bag range - not just the forthcoming 5p charge on single-use carrier bags - to good causes.

The community retailer said it hoped the move would raise as much as £750,000 in the next 12 months, with all the money being reinvested in community projects across Scotland.

From October 20, all retailers in Scotland will be required by law to charge customers 5p for single-use plastic bags.

But as well as the statutory charge, Co-operative Food will add on the money it makes on the sales of its various shopping bags and invite good causes to bid for the funding.

John McNeill, regional stores director for Scotland, said: “We’re getting carried away with carrier bags, and it’ll mean bags more money for communities the length and breadth of Scotland. By going much further than we need to we’ll raise hundreds of thousands of pounds extra for good causes.”

Zero Waste Scotland is encouraging retailers to sign up to its carrier bag commitment and donate proceeds from single-use bag sales to good causes.

Director Iain Gulland said: “Single-use carrier bags are emblematic of a throwaway society and we want to encourage people to reuse bags as much as possible. The Co-operative’s decision to donate money from sales of its bags to community projects is a great way to help promote reusable bags.”

Earlier this week, fashion chain Superdry signed up to Zero Waste Scotland’s carrier bag commitment, saying proceeds from the charge would go to the charity Trees for Life.