No baggage at Telford tills as 5p fee accepted

But the new carrier bag charge that came into force yesterday was welcomed by shoppers at one county supermarket, many of whom thought it a good way to cut down on the 7.64 billion bags given away each year in England.

And that will be music to the ears of the Government, which hopes the tax imposed across England, Scotland and Northern Ireland will cut carrier bag use by up to 80 per cent in supermarkets, save £60 million in litter clean-up charges and raise £730 million for good causes over the next decade.

And if shoppers at Asda Donnington are anything to go by, the new charge is unlikely to see us taking to the barricades. Dave Thomas, 70, of Chetwynd Aston, near Newport, Telford, said the charge was a "good green move" that was definitely good for the planet.

"Years ago we had to pay for our own plastic bags," he said, "so this is just going back to that."

Lisa Bailey, 35, from Wrockwardine, Telford, out shopping with her daughter Lucy, three, said people would soon get used to the charge.

"Shoppers are already faced with a similar thing at Aldi," she said. "I think it is a good idea to charge and it will definitely have a positive effect on the environment."

But if people were not too bothered about paying the charge, the quality of the bags they were being charged for was an issue.

Linda Jones, 66, from Donnington, Telford, said: "The charge is acceptable and won't affect me as I always bring my own bags.

"But I object to them charging 5p for the thin bags some supermarkets give out, as they rip far too easily."

Under the new rules, supermarkets must charge for bags that are plastic, have handles and are less than 70 microns thick, in other words, less than a thousandth of a millimetre.

The new law does not specify exactly how much the bags should cost, but retailers have been told to charge at least 5p.

Small shops are exempt from the law, which only affects businesses that employ more than 250 people. All the big retailers are expected to donate the money raised by the bag charge to worthy causes. But some high street names have been charging for years. Marks & Spencer has charged 5p for bags since 2007.

But despite the general welcome given to the new law, there could be one unexpected victim.

Karen Pearce, 51, from Ash Grove in St Georges, Telford, said: "If you have to do a lot of shopping then you need a lot of bags and that is a pain, especially if you are on a low income.

"And, also, we do a lot of car boot sales and having to pay for bags at supermarkets might mean that we have to start charging people for bags at the car boot."

The carrier bag charge was introduced in Wales on October 1, 2011.