UK Gov. extends single-use bag charge after “hugely successful” results

31 Aug 2020 --- The UK government has announced plans to extend the single-use carrier bag charge to all retailers and increase the levy to 10p from April 2021. The latest government statistics show the current levy, which stands at 5p and applies to any retailer employing 250 or more people, has led to a 95 percent cut in plastic bag sales in major supermarkets since 2015. The levy extension, which marks the latest move to clamp down on plastic pollution, is designed to scale up the success and bring the country closer to eliminating avoidable plastic waste through its 25 Year Environment Plan, and build a greener post-coronavirus society.

“...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,” says George Eustice, Environment Secretary.

“As a result of the carrier bag charge, 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 incentivized to use long-life bags made from more sustainable and environmentally-friendly materials,” adds Eustice.

Morrisons will recall plastic “bags for life” and employ “sturdy” paper alternatives (Image credit: Morrisons).Last year, Asda, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, The Co-operative Group, Tesco and Waitrose sold 226 million bags – 322 million fewer than in 2018/19 (59%). As a result of the charge, £178 million (US$237 million) has been donated to charitable causes, with £9.2 million (US$12.3 million) donated in the last year alone.

“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 percent drop in the number of plastic bags on the UK’s beaches,” notes Dr. Laura Foster, Head of Clean Seas at the 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.”

Reconsidering “bags for life”
This month, Morrisons announced that it would recall plastic checkout bags – coined “bags for life” – and employ “sturdy” paper alternatives. The retailer is running trials in eight stores across the UK for 12 weeks and plans to implement the change to paper across all of its 494 locations, provided the paper bags are popular with consumers. If successful, the switch will save an estimated 3.510 metric tons of plastic per year, equivalent to 90 million plastic bags.

In the US, The Center for the Circular Economy at Closed Loop Partners initiated a “groundbreaking” consortium with CVS Health, Target and Walmart to reinvent the single-use plastic bag. The consortium pledged to fund the initiative with US$15 million and welcomes “suppliers, designers and problem-solvers” to submit environmentally sustainable plastic bag alternatives to its Beyond the Bag Challenge. The winners will be eligible to enter a Circular Accelerator to test, refine and hone their innovations.UK government statistics show the current levy has led to a 95 percent cut in plastic bag sales since 2015.

UK steps up environmental efforts
In a public consultation last year, the UK government proposed to double the single-use plastic bag charge and extend it to all retailers, with the vast majority of respondents welcoming the move. The Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs has now committed to implementing the extended levy from April 2021.

Other key government actions on plastics include a “world-leading” 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.

The UK government will also introduce a tax on plastic packaging that does not meet a minimum threshold of at least 30 percent recycled content from April 2022 to encourage greater use of recycled plastic to tackle plastic waste and protect the environment.

Leading UK waste management authorities, including Veolia, the Environmental Services Association and the National Association of Waste Disposal Officers, have offered support for the proposed UK Plastics Tax as the consultation period concludes. However, compostable packaging specialist TIPA has called for compostable solutions to be excluded from the levy and afforded greater systematic inclusion in overall waste management strategy.

By Joshua Poole

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