Plastic bags in England no longer free

As of October 5th, the people of England will be paying minimum 5 pence per plastic bag in shops, which should be a decisive step towards the reduction of the number of plastic bags used in supermarkets per year, which is currently at 8 billion.
The experience of Wales and Scotland, where this measure has already been introduced, shows that the reduction can be drastic given that the use of disposable plastic bags has dropped by over 70% since Wales started charging for these bags four years ago.
A report done by the order of the Government of Wales shows that nearly three out of four shoppers back the idea of charging for plastic bags, whereas close to 90% of shopkeepers say that this measure either had no effect on the business or the effect was positive. Proceeds from plastic bag sales amounting to between 17 and 22 million pounds were given to charity.
Welsh Environmental Minister Carl Sargent said that charging for plastic bags had led to a significant change in shoppers' behaviour and a noticeable benefit for the environment.
Charging for plastic bags is one of the ways to reduce the consumption of plastic bags which poses a big environmental problem for the European Union, where 99 billion plastic bags are in circulation, nearly 200 per capita. The biggest consumers of plastic bags in the EU are Bulgarians - over 400 per capita, while the citizens of Luxembourg use the smallest number of bags - only 20 per capita.

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Environmental Ministry of Wales

Carl Sargant

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