[SINGAPORE] FairPrice is extending its "no plastic bag" drive to 25 outlets for one year from next Monday, the supermarket giant said on Monday.

The extension follows a month-long trial it conducted from Sept 16 to Oct 16 at seven outlets.

The 25 outlets that will be charging customers for plastic bags are 12 FairPrice supermarkets, five Cheers stores and eight FairPrice Xpress stores.

Customers at these outlets who require bags can purchase them at 20 Singapore cents per transaction at FairPrice, FairPrice Finest and FairPrice Xtra stores or at 10 cents per transaction at Cheers and FairPrice Xpress stores.

The money will be donated to environmental and community causes.

The one-year initiative will start on Nov 11.

Seah Kian Peng, group chief executive of FairPrice Group, said that the "no plastic bag" trial was introduced to reduce excessive use of plastic bags and encourage a change in customer behaviour.

"We are heartened by the survey findings (of the trial), which showed that majority of customers are receptive towards a plastic bag charge. We also observed that more customers started to bring-your-own-bag and show greater awareness for the environment," he said.

FairPrice surveyed 1,745 customers during the month-long trial.

Some 71.1 per cent of them supported charging for plastic bag use at supermarket. They cited environmental concerns and waste reduction as reasons for supporting the initiative.

Those who did not agree with the initiative said that plastic bags were part of the expected store service and were also reused to line trash bins.

THE STRAITS TIMES