England recognizes that the policy of reducing plastic bags is showing a very positive signal when over the past 5 years, plastic carrier bag sales fell by more than 95% in main supermarkets. Since the 5P charge was introduced in 2015 at England’s main supermarkets, the average person in England now buy just 4 bags/ year, compared with 10 last year and 140 in 2014.
The 5p charge was introduced in England to help reduce litter, protect wildlife and influence consumer behaviour after the number of carrier bags given out by the 7 major supermarkets rose by 200m in 2014. At the time, consumers were using more than 7.6 billion bags a year, amounting to 61.000 tonnes of plastic. Nowaday, the charge applies to all retailers employing more than 250 people, although the government has consulted on extending this to all businesses as well as raising the minimum charge to 10p.
The environment secretary, George Eustice, said: “We have all seen first hand the devastating impact that plastic bags have on the environment, littering our beautiful countriside and threatening the world’s marine life. I am committed to driving this progress further and I hope this continues to inspire similar action across the globe”
Separately, the Welsh government launched a long-awaited consultation, including proposals to ban 9 types of single-use plastic products. In the 20 years since devolution, Wales has transfromed from a nation which recycled less than 5% of its municipal waste, to become an international leader that recycles 63%.
