The new environment minister Edwin Poots has said he will consider introducing a levy on plastic bags in shops in Northern Ireland. This follows news this month that the Welsh Assembly have announced proposals which could see shops charge up to 15p for a single use plastic bag.
Shops and supermarkets in Northern Ireland currently encourage people not to use plastic bags, but it is a voluntary arrangement. Mr Poots said if this arrangement was not working, he would start making people pay for the bags.
Spar announced in July that a number of its stores in Northern Ireland would begin a three-month trial scheme of charging 5p for regular plastic bags. Asda will only hand out bags on request, resulting in a 50% reduction over the past six months. Tesco and Sainsbury reward their customers who do not use plastic bags with loyalty points. Marks and Spencer already charge customers 5p for bags.
Over in the Republic of Ireland, a 15% levy has seen a 90% reduction in the number of plastic bags being used. Mr Poots said he will initially consider a similar levy in Northern Ireland at the end of July.
