Tuesday 1 September 2020
Single-use plastic bag charge to be doubled to 10p and extended to all retailers across England in April 2021
Small retailers that employ 250 people or less will no longer be exempt from the levy, says the Department for Environment, Food & Rural Affairs (Defra), which notes the current 5p charge has led to a 95% reduction in plastic bag sales in major supermarkets since 2015.
The average person in England now buys just four bags a year from the major supermarkets compared to 140 in 2014.
Environment Secretary George Eustice said: “We have all seen the devastating impact plastic bags have on the oceans and on precious marine wildlife, which is why we are taking bold and ambitious action to tackle this issue head-on.
“The UK is already a world-leader in this global effort and our carrier bag charge has been hugely successful in taking billions of harmful plastic bags out of circulation. But we want to go further by extending this to all retailers so we can continue to cut unnecessary waste and build back greener.
“I hope our pioneering track record on single-use plastics will inspire many more countries to follow suit so we can take on plastic waste together and implement lasting change.”
