FairPrice & Sheng Siong donate over S$2.2 million in plastic bag fees to charity & sustainability projects

About S$2.26 million in plastic bag fees, collected at FairPrice and Sheng Siong supermarkets, was donated to various causes in Singapore.

These include the President's Challenge, the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF), and other social and environmental initiatives.

In their respective inaugural reports on the Disposable Carrier Bag Charge (DCBC) regulations implemented in July 2023, the two supermarket chains revealed the total collected amounts, and the causes the money went to.

Bags of money

Between Jul. 3, 2023, and Dec. 31, 2023, FairPrice issued 33,630,364 bags while Sheng Siong issued 15,202,129.

In total, FairPrice collected a total of S$1,681,518.20 in plastic bag fees.

After paying Goods and Services Tax (GST) at the prevailing rate of 8 per cent for 2023, the remaining S$1,556,961.30 was donated.

Of this, S$1 million was donated to the FairPrice Foundation, the philanthropic arm of FairPrice Group, and earmarked specifically for sustainability-focused programmes.

Another S$556,961.30 was directed towards environmental sustainability initiatives.

These include the WWF and Zero Waste SG, according to a report by FairPrice Group.

One of the projects, for which S$292,648.65 was allocated, is for a "proof-of-concept of fast-speed EV charging infrastructure" for use at FairPrice's distribution centres.

Sheng Siong on the other hand collected a total of S$760,106.45 in plastic bag fees.

The proceeds, excluding GST, were all donated to the President's Challenge charity, which covers a number of social beneficiaries, from children and family services to disability services, Sheng Siong's report said.

Cutting down on plastic

New regulations mandating charges for disposable carrier bags at larger supermarket operators came into force on Jul. 3, 2023.

Operators with an annual turnover of over S$100 million — including FairPrice, Sheng Siong, Cold Storage, Giant, and Prime — were required to charge a minimum of five cents per disposable carrier bag.

The new regulation would "nudge consumers to be mindful of and reduce their usage of disposable bags", said Senior Minister of State for Sustainability and the Environment Amy Khor.

Khor also said at the time that all covered supermarket operators had indicated their intent to direct the proceeds of the plastic bag charges towards environmental and social causes.

For transparency and accountability, the supermarkets would be required to publish information on the number of bags issued, the amount of proceeds collected, and how the proceeds are used, she added.

In January this year, Minister for Sustainability and the Environment Grace Fu said that the new charge had led to a reduction of 50 to 80 per cent in plastic bag use at supermarkets.

Top image by Fiona Tan