Plastic bag charge in small shops takes effect

Changes to plastic bag charge regulations today (21 May) came into force, with the charge increasing to 10p in England and extending to all retailers.

In England, the plastic bag charge is being extended to all retailers for the first time. The current 5p charge applies to retailers employing over 250 people.

“Everyone wants to play their part in reducing the scourge of plastic waste that blights our environment and oceans. The 5p bag charge has been hugely successful, but we can go further,” Environment Minister Rebecca Pow said.

“From today we will increase the charge to 10p and extend it to all businesses. This will support the ambitious action we have already taken in our fight against plastic as we build back greener.”

The regulation continues to provide smaller retailers with an exemption from reporting bags issued. Retailers with over 250 employees are required by law to record and report how many bags they sell.

The move has been welcomed by trade bodies.

James Lowman, ACS chief executive, said: “We strongly welcome the inclusion of local shops and other small businesses into the successful plastic bag charging scheme, which not only helps the environment, but is also a great way for retailers to raise money for local and national charities.”

Stuart Reddish, national president of NFRN, said: “We’ve been pushing for this for the last six years and now we’ve finally got a level playing field that we can actually do this.

“A lot of smaller retailers do make a charge already, and that money goes into local charities. It’s about being eco-friendly. We’ve seen how plastic can devastate the oceans, and cause massive problems for landfill. I just hope the customers understand why it’s necessary.”

The NFRN has produced posters for retailers to display in-store to advise customers that they will now have to pay 10p for a single-use carrier bag.

New figures from the Defra show that as a result of the carrier bag charge, the average person in England now buys just four single-use carrier bags a year from the main supermarkets, compared with 140 in 2014. By extending the charge to all retailers, the government expects that the use of single-use carrier bags will decrease by 70-80 per cent in small and medium-sized businesses.

Around half of the independent retailers in the convenience sector already charge for plastic bags, with many removing plastic bags from sale altogether.

The government guidance on retailers’ responsibilities with respect to carrier bag charges is available here.