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SINGAPORE – FairPrice will extend its “no plastic bags” initiative for a year from Thursday (Nov. 12) following positive responses from customers, the supermarket giant said on Wednesday.
A total of 15.6 million plastic bags have been saved since the initiative began last November with 25 outlets on board, FairPrice said.
Customers at these outlets who needed bags could purchase them for 20 cents per transaction at FairPrice, FairPrice Finest, and FairPrice Xtra supermarkets, or 10 cents per transaction at Cheers and FairPrice Xpress convenience stores.
“About seven out of 10 customers who shopped at participating supermarkets chose to bring their own bags or declined plastic bags, while about nine out of 10 customers did the same at convenience stores,” FairPrice said.
The $ 600,000 in plastic bag charges collected last year will be donated to environmental and community causes.
“The significant amount of plastic bags saved in this short one-year period is a testament to the increased public awareness of the environment,” said FairPrice Group CEO Seah Kian Peng.
Starting Thursday, 11 FairPrice, FairPrice Finest and FairPrice Xtra supermarkets, 12 Cheers stores and a FairPrice Xpress store will participate.
FairPrice added that it is the only supermarket chain here that imposes a plastic bag fee.
However, other supermarket chains have also launched their own initiatives to reduce the use of plastic bags.
In July last year, eight grocery stores, two each from Cold Storage, FairPrice, Prime Supermarket and Sheng Siong, placed donation bins in their vicinity to collect unused reusable bags from customers. After ensuring they were in good condition, these outlets redistributed the collected bags for use by shoppers.
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