明らかにする／漏らすd: How Britain's supermarkets turned '捕らえる、獲得するs for life' into just another way to fleece us at the checkouts - with the 利益（をあげる）s going straight 支援する into their coffers (and not much 伸び（る） for the 惑星…)

• e-mail

It's one of those 広大な／多数の／重要な British unifiers: that 沈むing feeling at the supermarket checkout when you realise you've forgotten your reusable shopping 捕らえる、獲得する.

Short of making a quick dash home ? rarely a 現実主義の 選択 ? there's nothing for it but to fork out for yet another '捕らえる、獲得する for life'.

The 貿易（する） in these 捕らえる、獲得するs, which 範囲 in price from 30p for a reusable plastic number to £25 for a designer こども, is now big 商売／仕事 for Britain's grocery 巨大（な）s.

And ? as the Mail can 明らかにする／漏らす today ? behind the にわか景気 is an unseemly tale of 法人組織の／企業の greed and 不当利得行為, disingenuously 現在のd as a （選挙などの）運動をする to help save the 惑星.

非難する for 捕らえる、獲得するs began in 2015 with a modest and 井戸／弁護士席-意向d 徴収する on 選び出す／独身-use plastic 捕らえる、獲得するs ? a 著名な success for a powerful Daily Mail （選挙などの）運動をする. But it has since ballooned into a multi-million 続けざまに猛撃する 産業, with supermarkets lining their own pockets by preying on the forgetfulness of their 顧客s.

The 貿易（する） in reusable plastic 捕らえる、獲得するs is now big 商売／仕事 for Britain's grocery 巨大（な）s?

によれば the most 最近の 利用できる 研究 from the 環境の 調査 機関 (EIA) and Greenpeace, Britain bought a staggering 1.58billion '捕らえる、獲得するs for life' in 2019 alone: that's 57 per 世帯.

The story begins in 2008 with the 開始する，打ち上げる of the Mail's energetic （選挙などの）運動をする to 除去する 選び出す／独身-use plastic 捕らえる、獲得するs, which were 責任がある a host of 環境の horrors, 含むing choking and 毒（薬）ing 野性生物, clogging up the oceans and 汚染するing the atmosphere with 広大な 量s of 炭素 放出／発行s 生成するd in the course of their 製造（する）.

Seven years later, David Cameron's 保守的な 政府, in a 企て，努力，提案 to 軽く押す／注意を引く shoppers into 存在 more environmentally responsible, finally introduced a compulsory 5p 徴収する on each 捕らえる、獲得する.

The 計画／陰謀 was an 即座の success. 事前の to the 徴収する, Britain got through の近くに to 8billion 選び出す／独身-use plastic 捕らえる、獲得するs every year. After the 徴収する was introduced, that 人物／姿／数字 急落するd to just 1.33billion in the 2016-17 財政上の year.

As the supermarket 巨大（な）s were encouraged to give their plastic 捕らえる、獲得する 歳入s to charity, good 原因（となる）s 利益d to the tune of millions of 続けざまに猛撃するs.

But while the 政府's 指導／手引 was that the retailers should '寄付する the proceeds [of the 徴収する] to good 原因（となる）s, 特に 環境の 原因（となる）s', this advice has been 広範囲にわたって ignored.

Last year, retailers 責任がある the sale of 72 per cent of 選び出す／独身-use plastic 捕らえる、獲得するs in the UK 報告（する）／憶測d to the Department for 環境, Food & 田舎の 事件／事情／状勢s (Defra) that they had 寄付するd a total of £6.3m illion to good 原因（となる）s. But just 0.07 per cent of that money (£4,600) went to 環境の 原因（となる）s.

The 圧倒的な 大多数 (92 per cent) went to 身元不明の 原因（となる）s or 団体／死体s selected by 顧客s or staff.

In other words, supermarkets were using the plastic 捕らえる、獲得する 徴収する to 支え（る） up their 存在するing charitable 率先s rather than （犯罪の）一味-盗品故買者ing it for 環境の 原因（となる）s in line with 政府 指導／手引.

At the same time, retailers began the even more insidious practice of selling いわゆる '捕らえる、獲得するs for life' ? any 捕らえる、獲得する that isn't considered 選び出す／独身-use ? at a large 利益（をあげる）.

As 捕らえる、獲得するs for life are 指定するd a different 部類 to 選び出す／独身-use plastic 捕らえる、獲得するs, the supermarkets can keep the 利益（をあげる） they make from their sale rather than 寄付するing it to charity.

Plastic 汚染 remains a 主要な 原因（となる） of 環境の degradation and いっそう少なく than one fifth of plastic produced globally is 再生利用するd

And over the years they have become a major, but never spoken o f, new 歳入 stream.

Waitrose sells almost as many different 捕らえる、獲得するs as it does varieties of potatoes. Though the 捕らえる、獲得するs are going to cost you a lot more than the spuds.

Apart from the £1 plastic Durabag ? made from 再生利用するd plastic ? that is ubiquitous across the checkouts, there's a £2 倍の-away pouch 捕らえる、獲得する, a string 捕らえる、獲得する for the same price and a small mesh 解雇（する） for 30p.

And then there's the novelty こども 捕らえる、獲得するs, which 含む a colourful number from the award-winning British designer Sarah Miller, which 小売s at £10 in Waitrose.

When approached by the Mail, Waitrose 認める it keeps 100 per cent of the 利益（をあげる）s from its shopping 捕らえる、獲得するs, unless a 明確な／細部 charity 捕らえる、獲得する 共同 is 発表するd. But it 辞退するd to say how many it sells or how much it makes on the grounds that such （警察などへの）密告，告訴（状） is 'commercially 極度の慎重さを要する'.

However, the Mail can 明らかにする／漏らす that the John 吊りくさび 共同, which owns Waitrose, has a 供給（する） を取り引きする a number of plastic 捕らえる、獲得する 製造業者s in 中国, 含むing a company called Xiamen Fei Fei 捕らえる、獲得する 製造業の Co Ltd.

Xiamen sells 捕らえる、獲得するs 類似の to the Waitrose Durabag for as little as 36p each, while the 卸売物価 of the £10 Sarah Millar こども 捕らえる、獲得する (before it's been decorated with that 独特の flamingo design) is just 16p.

The UK's most profitable supermarket, Tesco ? which last year 記録，記録的な／記録するd sales of £58billion and an operating 利益（をあげる） of £2.6billion ? shocked many 顧客s in July 2022 by 引き上げ（る）ing the cost of its plastic 捕らえる、獲得する for life from 20p to 30p.

It appears that Tesco's motto, 'Every Little Helps', 適用するs to its 利益（をあげる） 利ざやs just as much as its 顧客s' wallets.

In 2019 ? the most 最近の year for which there is data ? Tesco sold 713million 捕らえる、獲得するs for life. At the time, the 捕らえる、獲得するs cost just 10p, meaning Tesco made over £71million in sales that year from 捕らえる、獲得するs alone. With the price now at 30p, the supermarket's turnover on plastic 捕らえる、獲得するs in 2024 will be likely nearer to £200million.

A 広報担当者 for Tesco told the Mail it 扱う／治療するs its 歳入 from 捕らえる、獲得するs for life as general 歳入, meaning it is not distinguished from the sale of food and drink. In other words, all that money from plastic 捕らえる、獲得するs goes straight into the company's heaving coffers.

The supermarket does point out that it spends more on 'community 計画／陰謀s' than it makes from plastic 捕らえる、獲得するs and 強調する／ストレスs it 'encourages 顧客s to remember their 捕らえる、獲得するs to 削減（する） 負かす／撃墜する on plastic and 避ける 支払う／賃金ing for 捕らえる、獲得するs all-together'.

But surprisingly for a supermarket that trumpets its green 信任状, Tesco was unwilling to 供給する a 包括的な 決裂／故障 of its charitable 受益者s.

To this day, over 8billion キログラムs of plastic enters our oceans each year and the 悲劇の reality is that いわゆる 捕らえる、獲得するs for life are 与える／捧げるing to this problem rather than solving it

Other supermarkets which 告発（する），告訴（する）／料金 30p for 'sturdy' plastic 捕らえる、獲得するs 含む Sainsbury's and Asda ? それぞれ, the second and third highest 歳入 grocery chains in Britain.

A 広報担当者 for Sainsbury's said: 'All 利益（をあげる）s from sales of our 捕らえる、獲得するs for Life are used to support good 原因（となる）s in the communities we serve and source from.'

And they make sure no one gets away without 支払う／賃金ing for them.

Just this month, an 雇用 法廷 heard how Sainsbury's 解雇（する）d one of its own staff for stealing 30p plastic 捕らえる、獲得するs when 購入（する）ing items after a night 転換 over a bank holiday. Niamke Doffou had worked at the Romford Sainsbury's for two １０年間s but that long service 記録，記録的な／記録する didn't 削減（する） any ice when he was caught by the 蓄える／店's CCTV.

一方／合間, Asda ? like Lidl and Aldi ? 保持するs all income from 捕らえる、獲得する for life sales. Last year, Asda made a pre-税金 利益（をあげる） of £1.1billion, a 24 per cent 増加する on the year before.

Supermarkets 正当化する the rising cost of their 捕らえる、獲得するs for life by （人命などを）奪う，主張するing they are better for the 環境 than the cheaper 選び出す／独身-use 代案／選択肢, but is this really true?

最終的に, the two 製品s are very 類似の. They are both made from Low-濃度／密度 ポリエチレン. So why is the 捕らえる、獲得する for life sturdier? 簡単に because it 含む／封じ込めるs more plastic than its flimsy 相当するもの.

A 熟考する／考慮する by the 環境 機関 設立する that a 捕らえる、獲得する for life has to be used four times to be considered 'better' for the 環境 than a 選び出す／独身-use plastic 捕らえる、獲得する.

Plastic 汚染 remains a 主要な 原因（となる） of 環境の degradation. いっそう少なく than one fifth of plastic produced globally is 再生利用するd and, as nearly half of all plastic ever created was made after 2020, this is a major 問題／発行する. To this day, over 8billion キログラムs of plastic enters our oceans each year.

And the 悲劇の reality is that いわゆる 捕らえる、獲得するs for life are 与える／捧げるing to this problem rather than solving it.

Supermarkets such as Tesco argue that their 捕らえる、獲得するs for life can be 再生利用するd in-蓄える／店. However, によれば Nina Schrank, 長，率いる of plastics at Greenpeace, such a practice is not commonplace: 'The supermarket 産業 knows that the 広大な 大多数 of plastic 捕らえる、獲得するs are not 再生利用するd,' she says.

In 2022, 道具 Chellel ? an investigative 新聞記者／雑誌記者 for Bloomberg ? placed a 跡をつけるing 装置 in a Tesco branded plastic 捕らえる、獲得する and deposited it at a Tesco 再生利用するing point in London.

He could never have 予報するd what happened next.

After first 存在 taken to Harwich International Port on England's east coast, the plastic 捕らえる、獲得する continued through the Netherlands and Germany before 結局 ending up in the small ポーランドの（人） town of Zielona Gora, where the tracker's signal was lost.

によれば 環境の 行動主義者s in the 地域, the Tesco 捕らえる、獲得する was most likely sold to the Lafarge 固く結び付ける factory 144km north east of Zielona Gora, which 燃やすs plastic 捕らえる、獲得するs to 生成する electricity ? a practice which 解放（する）s more 炭素 into the atmosphere than 燃やすing coal.

In other words, when you 再生利用する your plastic 捕らえる、獲得する for life at Tesco, it could travel 700 miles 経由で ship and lorry before 存在 burnt in a ポーランドの（人） incinerator. Not 正確に／まさに environmentally friendly, then.

It's no surprise then that some supermarkets are 申し込む／申し出ing plastic-解放する／自由な 代案／選択肢s.

Morrisons, 示すs & Spencer and アイスランド all sell paper shopping 捕らえる、獲得するs, while the Co-op Group 申し込む／申し出s compostable 捕らえる、獲得するs.

M&S ? which also sells a £5.25 felt 捕らえる、獲得する made in 中国 ? are thought to source their paper 捕らえる、獲得するs from one of Europe's oldest and biggest 製造業者s: Welton, Bibby & Baron.

While the 捕らえる、獲得する 卸売業者 辞退するd to 明らかにする／漏らす its prices to the Mail, one 貿易（する） insider says M&S probably 支払う／賃金s around 5p per 捕らえる、獲得する. Considering M&S sell their paper 捕らえる、獲得するs for 40p, that 代表するs a likely 700 per cent 示す-up.

Asked whether this 人物／姿／数字 正確に 反映するd its 利ざやs, M&S 主張するd, 'We don't make a 利益（をあげる） on the 捕らえる、獲得する,' but would not (a)手の込んだ／(v)詳述する on what makes up the 40p price tag.

その上に, 研究 （売買）手数料，委託（する）／委員会／権限d by the Northern Ireland 議会 in 2011 設立する that 'it takes more than four times as much energy to 製造（する） a paper 捕らえる、獲得する as it does to 製造（する） a plastic 捕らえる、獲得する'.

Another 歳入 stream for supermarkets is higher-end こども 捕らえる、獲得するs, typically created in 共同 with a high-profile designer. For example, last summer, 示すs & Spencer sold a こども 捕らえる、獲得する for £8 designed by the British artist Yinka Ilori. Such 共同s can be big 商売／仕事.

支援する in 2007, Sainsbury's sold a こども designed by Anya Hindmarch emblazoned with the スローガン: 'I'm NOT a plastic 捕らえる、獲得する'. The 捕らえる、獲得するs turned out to be such a 現象 that 80,000 were sold in a 選び出す／独身 day. Today, the 捕らえる、獲得するs can fetch over £300 on eBay.

But 関わりなく whether it's a 30p plastic 捕らえる、獲得する or a £12 こども, the other big 勝利者 from this にわか景気ing new 産業 is the 財務省. As a 小売 item, every 捕らえる、獲得する is 支配する to 付加価値税 at 20 per cent. In 2022-23, for exa mple, Asda sold over 24million 選び出す／独身-use plastic 捕らえる、獲得するs at 10p each and paid over £400,000 in 付加価値税 on those sales.

The 捕らえる、獲得する 徴収する 計画／陰謀 was only going to work if 消費者s 再使用するd 捕らえる、獲得するs for months on end. That isn't what has happened. Instead, supermarkets have become even richer, selling us a 安定した stream of ますます expensive shopping 捕らえる、獲得するs, all while dissembling the 環境の cost.

The truth is that 捕らえる、獲得するs for life ? 利益（をあげる）s from which don't have to go to charity ? are just another way to fleece 顧客s at the checkouts.