FairPrice plastic bag charge of 10¢-20¢ extended till end-2022, will include all Cheers & FairPrice Xpress stores

Over 30 million plastic bags have been saved since the initiative started.

Ashley Tan| November 12, 2021, 06:49 PM

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FairPrice will be extending its "No Plastic Bag" initiative for another year, and to more stores, in an effort to strengthen its commitment to sustainability.

It will also be participating in the National Parks Board's (NParks) OneMillionTrees movement.

No to plastic bags

Group CEO at FairPrice Group and Member of Parliament for Marine Parade GRC Seah Kian Peng announced updates to the "No Plastic Bag" initiative on Nov. 12 at a tree-planting activity at Bedok Reservoir.

The initiative has been in place since 2019, where plastic bags are charged at 20¢ at and 10¢ at select supermarkets and convenience stores respectively.

All proceeds from the charges go towards supporting green initiatives, such as FairPrice's contribution to NParks' OneMillionTrees Movement.

Seah shared that over the past two years, more than 30 million plastic bags have been saved at their stores.

According to FairPrice, seven out of 10 shoppers are willing to bring their own reusable bags as well.

"To build on the momentum", the initiative will continue for one more year at 24 FairPrice Xtra, Cheers and FairPrice Xpress stores.

Additionally, from Jan. 1, 2022, it will be extended to include all 167 Cheers and FairPrice Xpress stores.

Tree-planting efforts

As its name suggests, the aim of the OneMillionTrees movement is to have one million trees planted around Singapore over the next decade.

In support of this, NTUC FairPrice Foundation, the charity arm of NTUC FairPrice, has announced a S$180,000 contribution to NParks' Garden City Fund and OneMillionTrees movement.

All proceeds go towards funding the planting of 600 trees, along with outreach programmes to raise awareness on conservation and to connect more people to nature.

FairPrice has also partnered with Fei Yue Community Services, a not-for-profit voluntary welfare organisation, to plant the remaining 550 trees by the end of 2022.

The trees will be planted by Fei Yue's employees and beneficiaries, under the guidance of NParks.

At the moment, 272,232 trees have been planted around the island.

Top photo from TB Foo / Google Maps