UK doubles carrier bag charge in war on single-use plastic

The 5-pence plastic carrier bag charge currently in place across most retailers in England will be extended further to cover all retailers and double to 10-pence from April 2021, the UK government announced on Monday.

The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA) said the move marks a step up in its fight against single-use plastics and a war on plastic waste. It claimed major success in preventing billions of plastic bags being sold and ending up in the ocean and environment since the charge was first introduced in England in 2015.

“We have all seen the devastating impact plastic bags have on the oceans and on precious marine wildlife, which is why we are taking bold and ambitious action to tackle this issue head on,” said UK Environment Secretary George Eustice.

“The UK is already a world-leader in this global effort, and our carrier bag charge has been hugely successful in taking billions of harmful plastic bags out of circulation. But we want to go further by extending this to all retailers so we can continue to cut unnecessary waste and build back greener,” he said.

“I hope our pioneering track record on single-use plastics will inspire many more countries to follow suit, so we can take on plastic waste together and implement lasting change,” he added.

Under the plans, small retailers, those employing 250 people or fewer who were thus far exempt from the charge, will also be brought under the purview of the carrier bag charge from April next year.

DEFRA statistics show the current levy, which stands at 5p and applies to any retailer employing 250 or more people, has led to a 95 per cent cut in plastic bag sales in major supermarkets.

As a result of the carrier bag charge, DEFRA says the average person in England now buys just four bags a year from the main supermarkets, compared with 140 in 2014. By extending the charge to all retailers, ministers want to see bag usage cut significantly in small shops as well, with customers incentivised to use long-life bags made from more sustainable and environmentally-friendly materials.

The move follows a public consultation last year, which proposed to double the charge and extend it to all retailers, and the vast majority of respondents welcomed the price hike.

In Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland, all retailers – including smaller shops – already charge a minimum of 5p for plastic bags. It was introduced first in Wales in 2011, then in Northern Ireland in 2013, before Scotland introduced the charge for all carrier bags in 2014, and England rolled out its plastic bag charge in 2015.

The government says that doubling the charge will drive this success even further and take the UK closer to a stated ambition to eliminate avoidable plastic waste through a 25 Year Environment Plan and build back greener after the coronavirus pandemic.

“It's encouraging to see the government take further steps in reducing our reliance on single-use plastic bags. Since the introduction of the 5p carrier bag charge we've seen a more than 60 per cent drop in the number of plastic bags on the UK's beaches,” said Dr Laura Foster, Head of Clean Seas at the UK's Marine Conservation Society.

“It's so important we reduce our reliance on single use items and we move to a culture of reuse. This increased charge, and extending to all retailers, will help remind people of everyday, simple changes they can make to help the marine environment,” she said.

Environmental group Greenpeace said the move is "a small step in the right direction" but urged the government to go further.

The British government highlighted some of its other actions against plastics, including a ban on microbeads, consulting on introducing a deposit return scheme to drive up the recycling of single-use drinks containers, and a ban on the supply of plastic straws, stirrers and cotton buds which will come into force in October.

DEFRA said it will also introduce a new "world-leading" tax on plastic packaging which does not meet a minimum threshold of at least 30 per cent recycled content from April 2022, subject to consultation, to encourage greater use of recycled plastic to tackle the problem of plastic waste and protect the environment.