UK Government to extend the 5p plastic bag charge to all retailers and increase the charge to 10p
UK Government launches consultation to extend the 5p plastic bag charge to all retailers and increase the charge to 10p
The 5p plastic bag charge will be extended to all retailers and increased to 10p to cut their use further, under plans put forward in a consultation launched by the Environment Secretary today.
Plastic bags have a significant impact on the environment. Government scientists believe plastic in the sea is set to treble in a decade unless marine litter is curbed - with one million birds and over 100,000 sea mammals dying every year from eating and getting tangled in plastic waste.
Currently, the 5p charge applies only to big businesses, but it is estimated over 3.6 billion single-use plastic bags are supplied annually by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Trade bodies representing around 40,000 small retailers have already launched a voluntarily approach to a 5p charge, but this accounts for less than one-fifth of England’s estimated 253,000 SMEs.
The consultation launched today will also explore the possibility of increasing the 5p minimum charge to encourage further behaviour change, potentially doubling it to 10p.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:
The 5p single use plastic carrier bag charge has been extremely successful in reducing the amount of plastic we use in our everyday lives. Between us, we have taken over 15 billion plastic bags out of circulation.
But we want to do even more to protect our precious planet and today’s announcement will accelerate further behaviour change and build on the success of the existing charge."
more...
The 5p plastic bag charge will be extended to all retailers and increased to 10p to cut their use further, under plans put forward in a consultation launched by the Environment Secretary today.
Plastic bags have a significant impact on the environment. Government scientists believe plastic in the sea is set to treble in a decade unless marine litter is curbed - with one million birds and over 100,000 sea mammals dying every year from eating and getting tangled in plastic waste.
Currently, the 5p charge applies only to big businesses, but it is estimated over 3.6 billion single-use plastic bags are supplied annually by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Trade bodies representing around 40,000 small retailers have already launched a voluntarily approach to a 5p charge, but this accounts for less than one-fifth of England’s estimated 253,000 SMEs.
The consultation launched today will also explore the possibility of increasing the 5p minimum charge to encourage further behaviour change, potentially doubling it to 10p.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove said:
The 5p single use plastic carrier bag charge has been extremely successful in reducing the amount of plastic we use in our everyday lives. Between us, we have taken over 15 billion plastic bags out of circulation.
But we want to do even more to protect our precious planet and today’s announcement will accelerate further behaviour change and build on the success of the existing charge."
more...