UAE | General
Store chain puts price on plastic bags and cuts use
The number of plastic bags used by shoppers has dropped by half in the first week since Geant hypermarket at Ibn Battuta introduced a 25 fils fee for them.
- By Emmanuelle Landais, Staff Reporter
- Published: 00:45 February 14, 2008
- Shoppers at Geant hypermarket now bring their own bags or opt for fewer bags. Earlier each person used to take two to three bags, says an official.
- Image Credit: Emmanuelle Landais/Gulf News
Dubai: The number of plastic bags used by shoppers has dropped by half in the first week since Geant hypermarket at Ibn Battuta introduced a 25 fils fee for them.
Shoppers are now bringing their own bags, or opting for fewer bags as they now have to pay for them, said Jean Marc Lebrun, chief operating officer at Geant.
The hypermarket has also introduced a Dh5 reusable jute bag.
Check-outs are now bare of stacks of plastic bags and packers have been trained not to automatically put all shopping items in to a plastic bag unless customers request them. "Our objective is not to sell plastic bags, the point is to get people to use less plastic," said Lebrun.
"Impulsive buying could drop slightly because people will think they didn't bring a bag and won't want to always buy one - but at least they will remember it next time and start bringing bags from home," he said.
Geant introduced the charge on plastic bags on February 4 to coincide with the UAE Environment Day.
Overall the campaign has been well received by customers and they have adopted the new way of shopping, said Lebrun.
"We still get some people who complain because they only have a few items and need a bag and don't see why they have to pay for one, but we're seeing half the amount of plastic bags being used so far," he said.
"On average before each customer would take two or three bags with them. This has really gone down. We want to make people understand that each time they take a plastic bag they are polluting the environment," said Lebrun.
Yesterday shoppers had mixed reactions and said they are still adapting.
Ahmad M, a Lebanese hairdresser, said the idea is a positive one for the environment.
"I don't walk around with a bag so I have to buy one though," he said.
Nosheen, an Indian housewife, said if they are going to charge for plastic bags they should be better quality bags.
Share this article
More from UAE General
More from UAE
Popular in UAE
-
Your pictures
Readers' pictures
A Selection of the best Gulf News reader pictures this week
Latest news
- UAE National Day: Preparations in full swing
- Universities celebrate UAE National Day
- Brothers' triple success
- Reviving age-old craftsmanship
- Youth reconnect with history
- Fatima: UAE's women are exercising full rights
- Emirates Palace gears up for festivities
- Emerging writers to get networking opportunities
- Ministry of Health sacks employees for forgery
- Please don't use two parking spaces
- 'Education is a long-term investment'
- Scottish businessman awarded honorary doctorate in engineering
- Giving money is not enough
- Large crowds join in Eid festivities
- Al Ain's oryx may hold key to breeding
Community Reports
-
Please don't use two parking spaces
Thoughtless drivers means other motorists are losing out in a city where places to leave cars are often hard to find
-
School buses must do safe drop-offs
Some bus drivers let students off at the wrong side of the road
-
Munching on a health hazard
Residents must be careful about consuming snacks and sandwiches prepared along the roadside as they attract dirt and bacteria
-
Faded signage fails to guide visitors
Reader seeks better upkeep of signboards in green areas
