England falling behind UK on single-use bag levy

England is falling behind the rest of the UK by failing to commit to introducing a mandatory charge on all single-use carrier bags, according to the London Assembly.

The comments come after the Assembly unanimously agreed a motion at a meeting on Wednesday (September 12) which urges Defra to introduce legislation that would force retailers to bring in a levy on all single use carrier bags.

The motion follows the publication of data by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) in July (see letsrecycle.com story) which revealed that the number of thin-gauge bags that were issued in the UK rose from 7.6 billion in 2010 to 8 billion in 2011.

The motion states: This Assembly notes the failure of supermarkets to prevent an increase in the number of single use plastic bags issued by them, through voluntary measures, over the past two years. It also notes the London Assembly’s 2007 report, ‘Bag to Basics’, which supported the introduction of a national levy on single use carrier bags.

This Assembly calls on the Mayor to request that the Secretary of State for the Environment enacts the reserve legislation in place under the Climate Change Act 2008, and introduces a mandatory charge on all single use carrier bags, ensuring that small businesses are protected from any additional administrative burden.

UK

London Assembly member Murad Qureshi said: England is clearly falling behind the rest of the UK on this issue. Wales has already introduced a charge, with Scotland and Northern Ireland due to follow suit. The Mayor pledged to introduce a levy on single-use plastic bags in the run up to the Olympics, I hope he hasnt forgotten about it.

Wales introduced a minimum five pence charge per bag in October 2011 (see letsrecycle.com story). In addition, Northern Irelands environment minister Alex Attwood announced that the country would be introducing the levy from April 2013. Meanwhile the Scottish government launched a three month consultation on the subject in June 2012.

Andrew Boff, Assembly member, added that he did not wish to place an unnecessary burden on small businesses through the introduction of a single-use plastic bag levy, however he said there was no excuse for supermarkets not to take action.

The government has come under further pressure to introduce the levy from four environmental organisations which joined forces last month to launch the Break the bag habit campaign (see letsrecycle.com story).

For more information on the plastic bag charging debate see our letsrecycle.com special report.