5p charge on plastic carrier bags comes into force in England
Rebecca Smithers, Guardian Sustainable Business
5th October 2015
A five pence tax on plastic bags must be extended to all shops to prevent further damage to the environment, campaigners have warned.
Without the participation of smaller shops, and not just those employing more than 250 staff, the impact of the tax will be limited, they said.
Friends of the Earth said Ministers should extend the scheme after surveys showed that convenience store owners were supportive of extending the scheme to all retailers.
English shoppers face a five pence charge for plastic carrier bags from today [Monday] as part of a government scheme to reduce litter and protect wildlife.
The introduction of the five pence charge in England brings it into line with schemes already operating in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as part of a drive to encourage a switch away from throwaway carrier bags.
According to the Government, 8.5 billion thin-gauge plastic bags were used last year by customers of UK supermarkets alone. That is down from the all-time peak of 12 billion in 2006, but still amounts to more than 23 million a day.
In England the average person goes through nearly 12 thin-gauge bags per month, while in Wales, where there has been a 5p charge per bag since 2011, shoppers use just two per month. On the basis of charging elsewhere, the Government expects bag numbers to fall by more than 70 per cent – cutting the number ending up in landfill or in the oceans by many billions every year.
Retailers have tried to take the sting out of the looming charge by emphasising the benefits to local causes. The Government estimates that more than £70 million a year – and the lion’s share generated by supermarkets – will be raised for good causes across England.
At Tesco, for example, customers will get the chance to vote in store and online for the projects they most want to see go ahead in their own local areas.
Some shoppers are puzzled about the exemptions to the rules, which include corner shops, and when they are buying food items that need more protection, such as fresh fish. Only larger retailers who employ more than 250 people will have to levy the charge, which environmental campaigners who otherwise welcome the change say makes absolutely no sense.
David Powell, senior resources campaigner at Friends of the Earth, says: “The English charge is a good start, but it makes no sense that it only applies to big retailers. Shoppers will get mixed messages depending on where they shop. This could defeat the main point of the charge in the first place – to change the way people and stores think about over-using plastic bags.”
The initiative appears to have the support of the majority of shoppers in England, with 62 per cent thinking it is reasonable to charge 5p for all carrier bags – a six per cent increase on 2012, a poll for the Break the Bag Habit coalition of litter charities found.
But the survey found 51 per cent were in support of an even more comprehensive scheme that extended the charge to all retailers.
Friends of the Earth said Ministers should extend the scheme after surveys showed that convenience store owners were supportive of extending the scheme to all retailers.
English shoppers face a five pence charge for plastic carrier bags from today [Monday] as part of a government scheme to reduce litter and protect wildlife.
The introduction of the five pence charge in England brings it into line with schemes already operating in Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland, as part of a drive to encourage a switch away from throwaway carrier bags.
According to the Government, 8.5 billion thin-gauge plastic bags were used last year by customers of UK supermarkets alone. That is down from the all-time peak of 12 billion in 2006, but still amounts to more than 23 million a day.
In England the average person goes through nearly 12 thin-gauge bags per month, while in Wales, where there has been a 5p charge per bag since 2011, shoppers use just two per month. On the basis of charging elsewhere, the Government expects bag numbers to fall by more than 70 per cent – cutting the number ending up in landfill or in the oceans by many billions every year.
Retailers have tried to take the sting out of the looming charge by emphasising the benefits to local causes. The Government estimates that more than £70 million a year – and the lion’s share generated by supermarkets – will be raised for good causes across England.
At Tesco, for example, customers will get the chance to vote in store and online for the projects they most want to see go ahead in their own local areas.
Some shoppers are puzzled about the exemptions to the rules, which include corner shops, and when they are buying food items that need more protection, such as fresh fish. Only larger retailers who employ more than 250 people will have to levy the charge, which environmental campaigners who otherwise welcome the change say makes absolutely no sense.
David Powell, senior resources campaigner at Friends of the Earth, says: “The English charge is a good start, but it makes no sense that it only applies to big retailers. Shoppers will get mixed messages depending on where they shop. This could defeat the main point of the charge in the first place – to change the way people and stores think about over-using plastic bags.”
The initiative appears to have the support of the majority of shoppers in England, with 62 per cent thinking it is reasonable to charge 5p for all carrier bags – a six per cent increase on 2012, a poll for the Break the Bag Habit coalition of litter charities found.
But the survey found 51 per cent were in support of an even more comprehensive scheme that extended the charge to all retailers.
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