England urged to pick up Wales' plastic bag levy

But environment minister reveals government could replicate levy that has been pioneered in Wales and Ireland

By Jessica Shankleman

01 Aug 2012

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The government has today faced fresh calls to introduce a levy on plastic carrier bags to help cut down on waste, after recent figures showed supermarkets voluntary efforts to curb bag use have stalled.

Eight billion "thin-gauge" bags were issued in the UK in 2011 at a rate of 254 per second, marking an increase of 5.4 per cent on the previous year, according to the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP).

Significantly, shoppers in Wales, who since October 2011 have had to pay 5 pence per bag as part of a national policy, cut their usage by 22 per cent last year.

In contrast, English shoppers, who get their bags for free, took home 7.5 per cent more plastic bags last year.

Similarly, when Ireland introduced a plastic bag levy in 2002, plastic bag use fell by 90 per cent. Before the Irish levy, plastic bags made up five per cent of visible litter, afterwards it dropped to 0.32 per cent.

Today four environmental organisations – Keep Britain Tidy, the Marine Conservation Society Surfers Against Sewage, and the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) – have launched a campaign, calling for a levy to now be applied in England.

The Northern Ireland Assembly is due to introduce a similar bag levy from next year, while the Scottish government is also currently consulting on imposing a bag tax.

England is the only UK nation not to have a single-use bag levy in place or to be actively seeking to implement one.

However, speaking exclusively to BusinessGreen last week, Environment Minister Lord Taylor revealed the Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) is still seriously considering introducing a national plastic bag levy, despite reports earlier this year that the Treasury had blocked the plans.

Lord Taylor travelled to Wales last week to learn more about the structure and impact of its levy, and he stressed that a levy is still an option for England.

"Devolved governments are to some degree autonomous and they have the ability to venture forward with these type of projects, and I think we can learn a lot from what they are doing," he said.

Samantha Harding of the CPRE said the evidence showed levies are an effective way of curbing plastic bag usage and litter.

"Bag levies have been proven to work in Ireland and Wales," she said. "A levy is coming soon to Northern Ireland and Scotland is already consulting on introducing one. Why must the English countryside be the last to benefit from good environmental policies?"

Hemp shopping bags ftw!