CBC could back tax on all Scottish carrier bags

The Consortium is made up of fourteen Scottish packaging businesses and is lobbying against a proposed tax on plastic bags for Scotland that would see consumers paying a charge for each bag they use.

Proposals for the tax came from Member of the Scottish Parliament Mike Pringle who is currently consulting with stakeholders on the issue. His proposals have been gaining support and many believe could well be passed as law in Scotland.

Peter Woodall, spokesman for the Consortium, said if the proposals are approved by the Scottish Parliament, the Consortium could push for a universal tax on all carrier bags, not just plastic.

“It would be fairer if there was a tax on all bags because all other materials also need to be reduced. Paper has far higher environmental impacts than plastic,” he claimed.

But he said the CBC would also continue to fight the carrier bag tax and educate people to properly judge the “junk science” behind it.

In the CBC's response to the Scottish Parliament consultation it refuted environmental reports that support the introduction of a tax and quoted other reports that dismiss the tax as an ineffective environmental measure.

Mr Woodall said: “The only reason left for the tax is to try and change people's habits and we are all in favour of people trying to use less resources.”

Some retailers are already introducing measures to tackle consumers' resource use, including asking customers if they need a carrier bag, the CBC said. It also quoted research funded by DEFRA which found that carrier bags are supposedly the most reused disposal product with 80% of households reusing their plastic bags.

“But the facts are it is the best, it is the most convenient way of getting goods to the home,” Mr Woodall stated.