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A voluntary scheme to reduce the environmental impact of carrier bags has been hailed as a better approach than introducing a tax on their use.

Major retailers including Asda and Boots have agreed to reduce the impact of the bags by a quarter by the end of 2008, under the scheme announced last month by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

Signatories are free to implement the scheme as best suits them. Ideas include using different materials, training staff to use fewer bags, and improving recycling facilities.

“The ultimate goal is to change our customers’ behaviour, and education is absolutely key to that,” said Asda’s corporate social responsibility manager, Ian Bowles.

But Friends of the Earth, which supports a carrier bag tax, was sceptical.

“It’s good, but in our experience voluntary initiatives don’t have much of an impact,” said spokeswoman Anna Mitchell.

UK retailers give away eight billion paper and plastic bags each year.