Retailers in Scotland will now be able to keep track of the number of plastic bags they sell, and how much money the sale of the bags generates, through a new online portal.
Launched by Zero Waste Scotland, which delivers the Scottish Government’s Zero Waste Plan, the web portal aims to help retailers fulfil their responsibilities of the Single Use Carrier Bags Charge (Scotland) Regulations 2014, which require all high-street stores, corner shops and online retailers (employing more than 10 people) to: charge customers a minimum of five pence for every single-use plastic, paper and biodegradable bag used; keep, retain and supply information about the bags supplied; and donate the money raised to ‘good causes’.
The free-to-access portal is only available to retailers that are signed up to Zero Waste Scotland's Carrier Bag Commitment (launched in July), which asks businesses to publically report how many bags they’ve sold and how the money has been used in return for reporting and communication support. It will retain records for ‘a minimum’ of three years.
‘Shoppers will expect transparency’ from retailers
Launching the portal for the Single Use Carrier Bag (Scotland) Regulations on Saturday (29 November), Scotland’s Environment Secretary, Richard Lochhead, said: “It has been extremely encouraging to see how so many people across Scotland have adapted to the carrier bag charge by bringing reusable bags.
“Now that the charge is bedding in, shoppers will expect transparency in how bag numbers are falling and what retailers are doing with the proceeds. I am therefore urging retailers large and small to sign up to this commitment to publish their results and donate the proceeds to good causes.”
Iain Gulland, Chief Executive of Zero Waste Scotland, added: “By signing up the Carrier Bag Commitment, retailers can use this dedicated reporting portal, which provides a really easy and transparent way for retailers to record key data, as required by law, around number of bags sold and revenues generated.
“In addition, the commitment provides great publicity for both your business and the good causes you support and lets retailers demonstrate to their customers clearly what they’re doing with the money they raise from single-use bags.”
Find out more about the portal for the Single Use Carrier Bag (Scotland) Regulations.
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