Campus Costcutter takes plastic bags off display

From 16 March a new plastic bag policy will be implemented in the Costcutter in Union North. No plastic bags will be placed on the tills in hope of reducing plastic bag consumption. However, the plastic bags will still be available upon request, free of charge.

“This policy is part of the business plan and the green agenda of Costcutter and of the University of Warwick,” explained Andrew Webb, Retail Manager of the Costcutter on campus.

“Costcutter believes that we should take the lead in educating the people on campus about using less plastic bags.”

As an alternative to the plastic bags, Costcutter has placed about 6000 reusable plastic bags in store. These bags are available for purchase at a price of 20p each and can be replaced for free if they break or become worn.

The new plastic bag policy is also partly influenced by government legislation to cut back consumption of plastic bags in supermarkets, even though the free plastic bags of Costcutter are already biodegradable and only take 18 months to break down completely. In sharp contrast, a normal plastic bag would take about 500 years to breakdown.

Practically speaking, the main aim of the policy is to dissuade customers from using a plastic bag when purchasing one or two items.

It is also hoped that the policy will encourage a switch to reusable bags on a permanent basis so further reduction in plastic bags consumption can be made.

There has and continues to be consideration given to the potential of putting plastic bag recycling points around campus and inside the Costcutter store.

“According to our earlier survey, people don’t like to reuse plastic bags used by other people as they think they could be messy and dirty and they don’t know what the bag has previously carried.”

The policy has been communicated to students through the Go Green co-ordinators and also the University’s Environment Officer.

There is significant support across the University community. “I’m glad that they’re doing this,” said Simon, a first year Mathematics student. “At least I will be more inclined to put the shopping in my school bag next time.”

Both the university and union seemed supportive of the changes.

“The Union is incredibly encouraged by the change in policy at Costcutter. Lobbying against the use of plastic bags is part of the Union’s wider Environment Policy and shows that Costcutter is acting responsibly on something that is of concern to many students,” said Governance and Finance officer Andy Glyde.

“We have seen a number of supermarkets invoke similar policies as a result of consumer pressure, and it is good to see our University keeping up with the times,” he concluded.