Top 50 Indie Park Garage Group has pledged its support to cancer charity CLIC Sargent with a new charging scheme for plastic carrier bags.

The retailer, which operates around 60 Park and Shop forecourts across the UK, is hoping to reach the fundraising target of £6,000 over the next year with the introduction of its new single bag charge scheme.

The initiative, which will see the company charge 5p for every plastic bag used by customers, has already been brought into being under government legislation in Wales and will be rolled out across all Park and Shop outlets on March 1, 2012.

As well as 50% of revenue being dedicated to improving the lives of young cancer patients, it is hoped that the project will tackle the problem of single-use bags and prompt the public to reduce, reuse and recycle plastic bags that have been given away.

All plastic bags that will be available to buy in-store will be branded with the CLIC Sargent logo and will be accompanied with some information, highlighting the efforts of the charity and the services it provides.

Miles Harvey, operations director at Park Garage Group, said: “When you go shopping, you are likely to be given at least one free bag. People only tend to use them once, which is a waste of resources and can create a litter problem.

“We hope our scheme will encourage shoppers to think twice about the impact of plastic bag usage on the environment and allow them to donate money to an extremely worthy cause if they feel that purchasing a plastic bag is necessary.”

CLIC Sargent Director of Fundraising Lucy Caldicott said: “Park Garage should be highly commended for their efforts in prompting consumers to be environmentally aware, as well as helping CLIC Sargent provide clinical, practical and emotional support to children with cancer and their families. I want to thank them for playing their part in reducing the impact of childhood cancer.”