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BAGGED UP

Morrisons is testing 20p paper bags and hiking ‘bag for life’ to 15p

The supermarket is trialling US-style bags to address customers' environmental concerns

MORRISONS is raising the price of its “bag for life” from 10p to 15p and introducing a 20p paper version as part of a trial.

The store said the two-month pilot at eight stores was in response to environmental concerns from customers about reducing plastic.

 Morrisons is raising the price of its 'bag for life' by 10p to 15p
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Morrisons is raising the price of its 'bag for life' by 10p to 15pCredit: Alamy

Morrisons removed 5p carriers last year, which the supermarket claims led to a 25 per cent reduction in overall bag sales last year

The new US-style paper bags have handles and can hold a similar amount to standard plastic carriers.

Stores expected to be taking part in the trial are Camden, Skipton, Wood Green, Hunslet, Yeadon, Erskine, Gibraltar and Abergavenny.

But some critics say there are also environmental problems with paper bags.

What do the supermarkets charge for plastic bags?

THIS is what the major supermarkets will get you to pay to take home your shopping:

  • 5p - Asda, the Co-op, M&S, Sainsbury's and Waitrose charge 5p for a single-use carrier bag - but Waitrose says it's intending to remove its 5p bags
  • 9p - Aldi and Lidl for a reusable bag
  • 10p - Tesco's cheapest reusable bag
  • 15p - Morrisons, which also charges 20p for paper bags in some stores now

A spokesman from Waitrose told the it is not introducing a paper bag because "it can take three times more energy to make a paper bag than a plastic one".

The 5p levy was introduced in England in October 2015 and all large retailers were required to bring in the charge.

Figures from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs show that 1.04billion bags were sold in 2017/18 by England's seven largest supermarkets.

This compares to the 7.6billion given out in 2014 - the equivalent of 140 bags per person.

That is an 86 per cent drop in plastic bag use since the scheme was introduced.

It comes after we revealed the plastic bag tax can create more rubbish as supermarkets hand out a billion bags for life every year.

Morrisons baffled shoppers this month with its new UNICORN Bernard Matthews turkey slices.

It's also selling a Scotch egg PIE for £3, which sounds delicious.

PM Theresa May says 5p charge on plastic bags will be extended to all retailers across UK

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