Scottish councils pressure Executive for plastic bag tax

The Executive has the power to create and raise certain taxes including a nominal fee charged against shoppers for each plastic carrier bag used.

Last autumn, backbench Liberal Democrat MSP Mike Pringle introduced a Private Member's Bill in the Scottish Parliament based on the Irish plastic bag levy, which charges about 10p per bag.

”Aberdeen city council has received widespread support from across the UK for this initiative“
– Douglas Paterson, chief executive of Aberdeen council

This week, Aberdeen city council renewed its campaign for the introduction of a levy of the use of plastic bags by shoppers, as supported by other Scottish councils including Aberdeenshire and Dumfries and Galloway.

Aberdeen council's chief executive Douglas Paterson said: “There is no reason why a &#39c;lever' system of taxation could not be used selectively to persuade retailers and shoppers towards the use of biodegradable bags.

“Aberdeen city council has received widespread support from across the UK for this initiative which is not surprising given the overwhelming logic of the argument,” he added.

Voluntary measures

Although the UK government has indicated that it does not intend to introduce a plastic bag tax, the Scottish Executive is considering the option.

A spokesman for the Scottish Executive told letsrecycle.com: “We are considering the details of Mike Pringle's proposals and we are in discussions with the Scottish Retail Consortium about the possibility of voluntary measures to reduce the use of plastic bags.”

He added that plastic bags and waste are one of the two themes of the Scottish Executive's new national environment awareness campaign launched earlier this month with the slogan &#39D;o a little, change a lot'.

“It is an ongoing campaign,” the spokesman said, “but this time it focuses mostly on energy and waste. One of the posters says &#39A; Bag is for Life and not just for Shopping.”

At the campaign's launch, Deputy Minister for the Environment Allan Wilson said: “The Executive also recognises the importance of waste awareness and education. Raising awareness of waste and educating people is crucial in encouraging people to participate in recycling or composting schemes. All of us have to make real changes to the way we handle our waste and the way in which we regard waste. Waste can be a resource: not just rubbish.”