England begins imposing plastic bag fee

England has begun imposing a fee of 5 pence per bag for single-use plastic carrier bags, reports the U.K.’s Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs. The implementation of the fee in England on 5 October, 2015, means that all U.K. countries are now imposing the fee. The first charge was introduced in Wales in October 2011; followed by Northern Ireland in April 2013; and Scotland in October 2014.

DEFRA says the charge, which applies for all retailers with 250 or more full-time employees, is expected to significantly reduce the number of plastic bags taken from shops. It follows the success of similar schemes in Scotland and Wales – in Wales the charge led to a 79 percent decrease in plastic bags in three years, DEFRA says.

In 2014, 7.64 billion single-use plastic bags were given out by major supermarkets in England, according to DEFRA.
“Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have seen a dramatic fall in the number of plastic bags taken from supermarkets and we can expect a significant reduction in England, possibly by as much as 80 percent in supermarkets and 50 percent on the high street,” says DEFRA Environment Minister Rory Stewart.

DEFRA says the charge could reduce usage by as much as 80 percent in large supermarkets. Small retailers don’t have to charge but can do so on a voluntary basis.

Consumers can avoid paying the charge either by reusing single use plastic carrier bags, or by using multiuse bags. The charge also does not apply for paper bags, if the consumer is in transit, or if the bag only contains certain items, such as unwrapped food, raw meat and fish, prescription medicines, uncovered blades, seeds, bulbs and flowers, or live fish.

Retailers are required to keep track of how many plastic bags they’ve given out and where the proceeds have gone and report this information each year.

The agency says that the charge could lead to as much as £730 million donated to charities and not-for-profits over 10 years.