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All profits generated from the charge will go to environmental charity Groundwork and be used to create or improve 'greener living spaces' such as parks, play areas and gardens in neighbourhoods around the UK. It is expected that around 40 neighbourhoods will benefit in the next twelve months.

The move follows a successful trial period of charging for food carrier bags in over 50 M&S stores in Northern Ireland and the South West of England. The trial has seen customers' use of food carrier bags drop by over 70% and raised over £80,000 for Groundwork. This money is now being invested in six projects across those regions including the development of the Daisy Hill Woodland in Newry, the creation of a play area at the Old Warren Community Centre in Lisburn and improving a green space at Woodhay Road in Plymouth.

Sir Stuart Rose, Chief Executive, Marks & Spencer said:
"This move lies at the heart of our 100-point eco plan, Plan A. We want to make it easy for our customers to do their bit to help the environment and our trials have shown us that they want to take action. Just imagine if M&S customers right across the UK cut the number of food bags they use by 70% – that's over 280 million bags they'd be saving every year.

"On top of this, our customers will be raising valuable funds to go to our partner charity, Groundwork, to invest in much-needed green spaces in our neighbourhoods."

Tony Hawkhead, Chief Executive, Groundwork, said:
"We are very excited to be working with Marks & Spencer to support Plan A. We all want our neighbourhoods to be cleaner and greener and our experience shows that when a major household name takes the initiative, it can encourage millions of people to change their behaviour. Not only will this scheme reduce the amount of food carrier bags sent to landfill sites but it will also help improve the quality of life in towns and cities across the country."

M&S will launch the national carrier bag charging roll-out in two phases:

• From Sunday 6 April until Monday 5 May customers shopping in M&S stores across England, Scotland and Wales will receive a free M&S Bag for Life (usual cost 10p) with every food transaction.
• Then from Tuesday 6 May a 5p charge will be introduced for standard food carrier bags. The Bag for Life will revert to its usual 10p cost and will be replaced free of charge when worn out.
• Also on 6 May M&S will introduce a brand new standard food carrier bag made from 100% post consumer waste in all of its stores – the first bag of its kind to be used by a major UK food retailer nation-wide. This move will reduce the amount of virgin plastic M&S uses by 3,400 tonnes per year and comes on top of a 3,300 tonne annual saving that M&S made by converting its Bag for Life, clothing and home carrier bags to 100% recycled post consumer waste in April 2007.

The national roll-out of carrier bag charging is seen as a major step towards M&S' Plan A commitments to aim to reduce carrier bag usage by a third and send no waste to landfill from its operations by 2012. Plan A, M&S' business-wide, £200 million 'eco-plan', was launched in January 2007.

Groundwork Projects
Last year Groundwork supported nearly 6,000 projects across the UK supported by central and local government, businesses, charitable trusts and the National Lottery.  As a result of those projects more than 80% of people involved felt their neighbourhood was a better place to live and felt more able to influence decisions affecting their community. Groundwork will use the money raised from the carrier bag charges to support local projects in towns and cities across the UK.

Since M&S started working with Groundwork six projects are underway in Northern Ireland and the South West including the Glencairn Daycare Centre in Belfast where the carrier bag money is funding the development of a landscaped seating area within the ground of a day care centre. Currently the older people who use the centre have to sit in the car park in the summer months.

In Bristol Mancroft Park is a valuable community resource, which provides a selection of predated play facilities. Over the years the park has fallen into a state of disrepair and a new initiative has been put in place to create a new playground. This project is working with children and young people to design and build a piece of bespoke play equipment for the park using traditional wood working techniques and locally sourced timber.