M&S bag charging scheme cuts usage by 80%

M&S' bag charging scheme has been hailed a success

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Marks & Spencer's plastic bag charging scheme has cut bag usage at its stores by 80%.

M&S began charging customers 5p for a plastic bag earlier this year. M&S' customers are understood to have used 70 million fewer bags since the scheme was introduced. M&S has sold 10 million of its 5p bags and donated the 1.85p profit made on each one to Groundwork, the environmental charity.

M&S aims to cut its plastic bag usage by a third and to send no waste to landfill by 2012.