Mall Group shopping centres to charge customers 1 baht for a plastic bag

PHOTO: Mall Group

The Mall Group, that runs some of Bangkok’s leading shopping centres, including Bluport in Hua Hin, will charge customers for plastic bags from July 3. The initiative is to mark International Plastic Bag Free Day which falls on July 3.

They are the first Thai retail company to take the bold step. Customers will be encouraged not to take a plastic bag at checkout.

Daily News reports that the company’s supermarkets and gourmet markets in the shopping complexes will also be included in the initiative.

But the penalty will be minimal with Mall Group shops only charging 1 baht for taking a plastic bag. They say they will send the proceeds to the World Wildlife Foundation in Thailand. The ban will apply across the board at Ngam Wong Wan and Bangkapi in the capital and their high end stores like Emporium, Paragon, Emquartier and Bluport, Hua Hin.

Meanwhile, Tesco Lotus continue their half-hearted attempt at trying to remain relevant with the no plastic bag movement. The say they are stopping the use of plastic bags at three of their outlets on Koh Chang in Trat in eastern Thailand. But this announcement only results in eight branches out of 2,000 outlets across Thailand.

Tesco Lotus say they will continue their no-plastic-bag policy on the 4th of every month at all their stores – an initiative the company claims has already reduced the consumption of millions of bags.

Mall Group and Tesco Lotus remain huge contributors to Thailand’s single-use plastic bag scourge, along with Central Pattani (that operates all the Central shopping centres), 7-Eleven and Family Mart convenience stores.

SOURCE: Daily News | ThaiVisa