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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.
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