Marks and Spencer to charge for bags for food

LONDON (Reuters) - British retailer Marks & Spencer Group Plc will charge food customers 5 pence (about 10 cents) for a plastic carrier bag, with profit being used to improve parks and play areas across the country, the company said on Thursday.

M&S said a trial in Northern Ireland and southwest England had seen customers' use of food carrier bags drop by over 70 percent and had raised 80,000 pounds ($159,000) for environmental charity Groundwork to create "greener living spaces".

"If M&S customers right across the UK cut the number of food bags they use by 70 percent, that is over 280 million bags they would be saving every year," Chief Executive Stuart Rose said.

M&S said the scheme would become fully effective on May 6, by which time all its food stores will use a new standard food carrier bag made entirely from consumer waste.

"This move will reduce the amount of virgin plastic M&S uses by 3,400 tonnes per year," the company said.

(Reporting by Dan Lalor; Editing by David Holmes)