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No Plastic Bags At 25 NTUC FairPrice Outlets Till Nov 2020: BYOB Or Pay Up To $0.20

Melissa Chan

NTUC FairPrice today (4 Nov) announced that it will be extending its “No Plastic Bag” trial following “positive consumer survey findings” from its month-long trial from 16 Sept to 16 Oct 2019.

This initiative will be extended to 25 stores (12 FairPrice and 13 Cheers/FairPrice Xpress stores), including the original seven stores, and will start from 11 Nov 2019, for a year.

Said Mr Seah Kian Peng, Group CEO, FairPrice Group: “We are heartened by the survey findings, which showed that majority of customers (71.1%) are receptive towards a plastic bag charge.”

“We also observed that more customers started to bring-your-own-bag (BYOB) and show greater awareness for the environment.”

Customers who still require bags can purchase them at S$0.20 per transaction (FairPrice, FairPrice Finest, FairPrice Xtra stores) or S$0.10 per transaction (Cheers, FairPrice Xpress stores).

Proceeds from the charges will go towards the sponsorship of environmental and community causes.

73% Surveyed Customers Expressed Positive Sentiments

FairPrice also shared several highlights of the consumer sentiment survey, in which some 1,745 customers were interviewed about their BYOB behaviours as well as their receptiveness towards plastic bag reduction efforts.

73% expressed “positive sentiments” towards the trial, noting that it was a “good initiative” by FairPrice.

A majority (61.3%) in support of the plastic bag charges wanted to do so to “help save the environment”.

On the flipside, those who did not express support for the plastic bag charges shared that providing plastic bags “were part of the expected store service” (32.3%).

Other reasons cited were “needing to plastic bag to line their trash bins” (11.9%) or “simply not wanting to pay extra charges” (11.7%).

When surveyed about their BYOB practices, 34.4% of customers shared that they do not bring their own bags, with only 14.6% of interviewees bringing their bags all the time.

It seems like the trial helped urge more customers to adopt a BYOB mindset, however.

According to FairPrice, its Tai Seng outlet saw a 2,760% in BYOB transactions, while FairPrice Xtra at Hougang One and FairPrice Finest at Zhongshan Park saw a 2,524% and 401% increase respectively.

However, BYOB transactions “fell significantly during the final week of the trial as compared to the peak”.

S$19,000 Collected From Plastic Bag Charges Going To Charity

Mr Seah said, “We thank the public for their support and are pleased to conclude the trial with a donation of S$19,000, collected from the plastic bag charge.”

The proceeds will go to the Singapore Children’s Society and The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund.

FairPrice aims to save 30 million plastic bags per annum by 2030.

The list of 25 outlets is as below:

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BYOB: 7 FairPrice, Cheers Outlets To Start Charging For Plastic Bags From 16 Sept
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