Draft regulations which will force retailers in Wales to charge for single-use carrier bags from October 1 2011 were laid yesterday (November 2) by Environment minister Jane Davidson.
When passed, the Single Use Carrier Bag Charge (Wales) Regulations mean that customers will be charged a minimum of 5p for each single use bag they use. This figure has been revised downwards from the 7p originally proposed (see letsrecycle.com story), following the outcome of two consultations.
In particular, retailers claimed that 5p would be enough to significantly reduce the environmental impact of bags, with the British Retail Consortium claiming that more would be an “embarrassing environmental blunder”.
The BRC said yesterday (November 1) that it welcomed the change but was still opposed to compulsory charging altogether for bags, favouring instead a voluntary approach.
Other changes to the proposals include moving the implementation date from Spring 2011 to October 2011, as it was felt that retailers would need more time to make the necessary changes.
In a statement, Ms Davidson said: “I believe that extending the implementation timetable, and bringing it in line with common commencement dates for business, will provide for a smoother and more successful introduction of the charge.
“It should allow sufficient time to ensure that retailers are fully aware of the requirements of the legislation and have sufficient time to make physical changes to stores, IT changes, staff training and other changes needed to core aspects of their business operations in Wales before the charge comes into force.”
Ms Davidson added that she would be bringing the regulations forward for consideration by the National Assembly for Wales on November 30 2010.
Measure
The laying of the draft regulations comes ahead of a vote in the plenary session of the Assembly this afternoon (November 2) on a wider piece of legislation governing waste in Wales, known as the Proposed Waste (Wales) Measure.
If approved, this will include further measures relating to single-use carrier bags and most notably the power for ministers to force retailers to give the profits of the charge for single-use bags to charity if they fail to do so.
Importantly, the Measure also includes statutory targets for local authorities to recycle and compost 52% of municipal waste in 2012/13, rising to 70% by 2024/25.
Last week, the Welsh Local Government Association warned that, if passed, the targets could cost councils an extra £30 million at a time of budgetary constraints (see letsrecycle.com story).
However, this has since been rejected by Ms Davidson, who wrote to Wales' Daily Post yesterday (November 1) claiming that the 70% recycling target would actually save money.
She said: “You ask ‘if it is true that achieving a recycle rate of 70% will cost local authorities in Wales a total of £30 million a year…' The answer is unequivocally no. Our latest figures show that achieving the 70% target by 2024/25 would mean an overall saving of at least £38 million.”
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