Plastic bag charges begin in England

Shoppers who forget to bring their reusable bags to the supermarket will now be charged 5p for each single-use plastic bag.

The new charge came into effect on Monday for retailers which have 250 or more employees and followed similar schemes in Scotland and Wales.

The charge doesn’t apply to paper bag or plastic bags containing certain items like raw meat, unwrapped food or prescription medicines.

The Government is hoping the scheme will reduce the use of plastic bags as well as the litter it causes by encouraging people to reuse bags.

Environment minister Rory Stewart said the more bags that are taken from shops, more plastic makes its way into the environment.

“Simple changes to our shopping routines, such as taking our own bags with us or using more bags for life, can make a huge difference in reducing the amount of plastic in circulation meaning we can all enjoy a cleaner, healthier country.

He said Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland have seen a dramatic fall in the number of plastic bags taken from supermarkets.

“We can expect a significant reduction in England, possibly by as much as 80% in supermarkets and 50% on the high street.”

Money raised from the charge will go towards good causes chosen by retailers, and it’s expected to raise up to £730m over the next 10 years.

It’s also expected to benefit the UK economy by £780m and save £60m in litter clean-up costs.

In 2014 over 7.6bn single-use plastic bags were given to customers by major supermarkets in England – a total of 61,000 tonnes or the equivalent of 140 bags per person.