Security tags added to shopping baskets to stop thieving customers avoiding 5p bag charge

Supermarket bosses have been forced to attach security tag to baskets at a Dundee store in an attempt to hamper tight-fisted shoppers. A “large number” of baskets have been taken from the Asda store at Milton of Cragie by shoppers since the Scottish Government introduced a 5p carrier bag charge.

Shoppers are going to extraordinary lengths in a bid to avoid the charge, including stealing shopping baskets, as well as cramming the free tiny bags designed for fruit and vegetables with an array of other goods. Now baskets at the Asda store in Milton have had to be security tagged following an epidemic of thefts . It is thought that the store could be the only one in Scotland where bosses have had to go to such levels.
Other shops in Dundee have been forced to shell out significant sums of money to replace basket stocks and have also issued stern warnings to customers - with put security staff also on high alert. A spokesperson for Asda said: “Sadly, since the introduction of the carrier bag charge, we have lost a large number of baskets. We have reluctantly introduced security tags to ensure all our customers can carry out their shopping without disruption.”
Shoppers are being advised that if they take a basket from premises and fail to return it, they could be charged with theft. Zero Waste Scotland, which has played a key role in the scheme, slammed the actions of the basket thieves, saying there was “no excuse” for their actions. “Avoiding the bag charge is no excuse for criminal and irresponsible behavior,” a spokesman said. “The best way to avoid the charge is by remembering to bring a re-useable bag to shops.”