The plastic bag tax which has already been implemented in Wales and Ireland is due to come into effect in England following the general election in 2015. With the majority of ministers behind the plan in principle, it is hoped that it will further contribute to efforts supermarkets are making to improve their eco-friendly practices and lead to fewer bags being used by consumers per year.
Liberal Democrat members demonstrate their support for a cut in the use of plastic carrier bags
However this week a cross-party committee of MPs, known as the Environmental Audit Committee (EAC), has spoken out against the current proposals for the implementation of the carrier bag tax, believing they make matters too complicated for stores to follow new legislation cohesively. The proposals, which have been drawn up by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) currently exclude small convenience stores and takeaway businesses from the tax, as well as stores which use biodegradable paper bags.
While Defra’s intentions are good in the case of small businesses, as it claims it does not wish to create a burden for smaller stores, the EAC believes it is creating unnecessary complications within the scheme. In Wales and Ireland, all retailers offering plastic or paper bags to consumers are forced to pay a levy which is then passed on to consumers – something the EAC claims makes the process much more straightforward both in legislation and in practice.
A Defra spokesman explained the reasons behind exempting certain types of bags from the scheme, saying; “Paper bags make up only a small proportion of carrier bags and break down naturally.
“Biodegradable bags will only be exempt if they are genuinely biodegradable – currently such a bag does not exist.”
At present, English consumers use over eight billion disposable carrier bags every year, which ministers hope will fall by around 70 per cent upon introduction of the plastic bag tax. Should the successes seen in Wales and the Republic of Ireland be anything to go by, this percentage could even be higher, as these countries have seen reductions of 96 per cent and 90 per cent respectively in some sectors.
EAC chair Joan Walley MP opposes the exemptions recommended by Defra, using evidence presented by recycling group the British Plastics Federation to point out that biodegradable bags, whether paper or another material, take time to break down and thus still pose a problem to wildlife if disposed of incorrectly.
She continued; “Ministers have managed to make a complete mess of their planned carrier bags charge by making it unnecessarily complicated.
“Carrier bags litter our streets and harm wildlife, and the government is right to want to reduce their use.
“But Defra seems to have made decisions about the design of this scheme that were based more on wishful thinking than hard evidence.”
With industry bodies such as the Association of Convenience Stores calling for their members’ inclusion in the scheme, it may be that Defra’s intentions, whilst well-meant, are in fact going against the wishes of small businesses. Perhaps it may be in the government’s best interests to reconsider and follow the model which has worked so well in Wales.
Do you think small businesses should be included in the plastic bag tax?
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