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The government will double the charge for single-use plastic bags in England from 5 pence to 10 pence and end the exemption for smaller stores from April 2021 as it steps up efforts to tackle plastic pollution. .
Since the introduction of the charge in October 2015, shoppers have used billions less thin-gauge plastic bags.
Recent government data revealed that the current rate of 5p, which applies to any retailer employing 250 or more people, has led to a 95% reduction in the use of plastic bags in England’s major supermarkets since 2015.
Announcing the doubling of the charge and its extension after consultation, Environment Secretary George Eustice said: “We have all seen the devastating impact plastic bags have on the oceans and precious marine wildlife, for So we are taking bold steps and ambitious action to tackle this issue head-on.
“The UK is already a world leader in this global effort, and our carry bag charge has been highly successful in removing billions of harmful plastic bags from circulation. But we want to go further by expanding this to all retailers so that we can continue to reduce unnecessary waste. “
The 5p charge was introduced in England to help reduce litter, protect wildlife, and influence consumer behavior after the number of bags distributed by the seven major supermarkets increased by 200 million in 2014. In that time At the moment, consumers used more than 7.6 billion bags a year. , which amounts to 61,000 tons of plastic.
Now the government is under pressure to deal with the strongest so-called “lifetime bags” amid evidence that consumers treat them as single-use bags: they use them once and then throw them away.
Sam Chetan-Welsh, a Greenpeace political activist, said: “By raising the price of plastic bags again, the government is taking a small step in the right direction, but now it should be taking big steps. Restoring the previous price of the transport bags, but not taking action on the bags for life, is only analyzing part of the problem.
“The government should now set legally binding targets for retailers to reduce single-use plastics by 50% by 2025. And it should work to make sure big-brand plastic producers take responsibility for eliminating their waste. If costs are increasing for buyers, ministers really have no excuse not to increase costs for companies that are responsible for the increasing volumes of single-use plastic packaging in the first place. “
The Morrisons grocery chain plans to ditch all of its “plastic bags for life,” and recently launched a trial in eight stores offering sturdy paper bags in the boxes.
Introducing paper bags in all its 494 stores would save 90 million plastic bags a year, the equivalent of 3,510 tons of plastic, it said. Waitrose is planning a similar test.
Anecdotal evidence suggests that the drive to reduce single-use plastics in the UK has stalled since the coronavirus outbreak, due to increased use of masks, gloves, visors and wipes and because recycling rates have plummeted during closing.
Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland have their own plans to reduce the use of plastic bags.
