Lidl to donate £500,000 from UK carrier bag charge to Keep Britain Tidy

Lidl UK has pledged to give £500,000 over a 12-month period to Keep Britain Tidy, the organisation with which it has launched a new environmental initiative.

The supermarket will donate the funds from the proceeds of its single-use carrier bags to help fund the initiative, which aims to raise awareness of littering and waste reduction amongst young people.

“We know that the majority of children and young people do care about their environment and don’t drop litter,” explained Keep Britain Tidy Chief Executive, Allison Ogden-Newton.

“The support of Lidl, through the donation of the proceeds from the single-use bag charge, will help us engage with those young people and create a generation of young people who not only care about their environment but are also equipped to do something to help.”

The donation from Lidl will allow Keep Britain Tidy to produce resources to develop its ‘Eco-Schools’ programme, which guides schools on their sustainability practices and helps them educate students about the environment and how they can make a positive difference.

As part of the overall campaign Lidl will rebrand its plastic carrier bags for the first time since it arrived in the UK in 1994.

Lidl UK’s CEO, Ronny Gottschlich, commented: “We take our environmental responsibility as a grocery retailer very seriously. Despite having always charged for our carrier bags, we acknowledge that there is a lot of work still to be done in achieving our long-term vision of helping to protect the country's stunning natural heritage.

“We are proud to announce this new partnership and hope that the work we'll be doing alongside one another will encourage people to think twice before littering."

Lidl is also donating an additional £500,000 from its carrier bag charge to children’s cancer charity, CLIC Sargent.