UK: 5p charge for single use carrier bags to be introduced in England

A five pence mandatory charge for single use carrier bags will be introduced from Autumn 2015, the Deputy Prime Minister, Nick Clegg, has announced. Last year, over 7 billion carrier bags were issued by supermarkets in England. Far too many ended up in landfill or scattered around our streets and rivers killing wildlife and costing tax-payers millions of pounds to clean-up. Similar charges in Ireland, Wales and Switzerland have led to an 80% reduction in the number of carrier bags issued.
It’s expected that the charging scheme in England will follow the Welsh model in which retailers voluntarily give profits to charity. Small businesses with fewer than 250 employees will be exempt from the charge to ensure that they are not disproportionately burdened by the charges.
The government will also incentivise biodegradable bags. A new high standard for these products will be developed with manufactures. Bags which meet that standard will be exempt from the charge (Press Release UK government, 14 September 2013).
Click here for the press release.

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