In September 2013, the Government announced that they were planning to introduce a 5p charge for single use carrier bags in England that would take effect after the next election in 2015. This is following the success of similar schemes in Ireland and Wales which have seen the impact of plastic bags on the environment reduced.
However, whilst those schemes have been successful, the proposed charging scheme in England has been criticised as being a "complete mess". The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) has claimed that the current proposals are "unnecessarily complicated", stating that the parallel schemes in the Republic of Ireland and Wales were simpler.
The proposals, drawn up by the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (DEFRA), suggests a 5p charge on supermarkets and large stores only, exempting smaller outlets from the cost. In addition, DEFRA does not want the charge to apply to biodegradable bags, paper bags or the reusable "bags for life". These rules, according to the EAC, are making the proposal too complex.
Joan Walley, Chair of the EAC, said, "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."
In addition, the Association of Convenience Stores said the best way of tackling the issue was to apply the charge to every shop.
A DEFRA spokesperson defended the plans, 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."
However, the EAC maintains that the charging schemes in Wales and Ireland should be used as a benchmark as they have no exemptions. Andy Walker said, "It's a no brainer of an issue - it's quite clear. In Wales where there is a flat charge across the board, bag consumption went down by 70%. Unfortunately the Government is overcomplicating this, we have a perfect model in Wales that is doing the job it was brought in to do and the Government should implement it."
