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Welsh shoppers to pay 5p for each plastic bag
Wednesday 3rd November 2010, 11:59AM GMT.
Shoppers in Mid Wales will have to pay 5p for every plastic carrier bag used in shops from next year. The charge will become law from October 1 across Wales.
The announcement was made by the Welsh Assembly yesterday.
The charge is being introduced to dramatically reduce the volume of carrier bags used in the country.
Environment minister Jane Davidson said she was delighted the charge would be introduced.
She said: “I am delighted that we are another step closer to introducing Wales’ carrier bag charge.
“Last year in Wales we took home an estimated 350 million carrier bags from the major supermarkets alone.
“This figure equates to a staggering 273 bags per household and does not include the many more bags we pick up when shopping at high street stores and smaller shops.
“Most of these end up cluttering up our cupboards, littering our country or rotting in landfill where they release harmful greenhouse gases into the environment.
“The charge is aimed at helping us to dramatically reduce our use of carrier bags and encourage all of us to move away from some of the wasteful and throwaway habits we have developed.
“It will affect everyone in Wales so it is really important that we get the detail right.
“We have listened to the feedback we have received from businesses, organisations and individuals from across Wales and beyond and have taken on board the issues raised.
“As a result we are proposing a 5p minimum charge for carrier bags — an amount that I am satisfied will bring about the desired behaviour change without presenting an unnecessary financial burden on the shopper, or preventing impulse shopping.”
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Great Idea. The amount of times you see people just having carrier bags for the sake of it.
This will put more emphasis on people (INCLUDING MYSELF) to remeber the bags when we go shopping.
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Who gets this money?.
How much do the shops pay for each bag?.
Sounds like a nice little earner for someone.
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Excellent Idea, but why not ban giving them out at supermarkets altogether, people would then have to take their own bags, something the French and Spanish have been doing for years.
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i think this is a great idea
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Does that mean that carrier bags are more expensive than prescriptions in Wales..
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I would be quite happy to pay for the bags, especially if it means that my local Tesco always has then in stock, really fed up of going shopping and spending £100.00 to be told there is not any bags left!!
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i wouldnt mind paying but i think this will result in loss of trade people will just go to neighbouring towns, so the bishops castle type towns on the border will do well from this thank you welsh assembly for helping to create jobs in shropshire!!! ha ha ha
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Why would someone drive from Wales to Bishops Castle to save themselves 10p on a couple of carriers? It would cost them far more in petrol!
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So ….
why oh why cant we use PAPER bags instead and STOP using plastic altoghether???
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should charge 50p or more they think twice about buying a bag then
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Is it April the 1st?
No, can’t be the Welsh don’t have a sense of humour do they?
IDIOTS
This is what happens when little nobodies get some sort of ”power”.
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Good – it’s about time the Welsh paid for something. They’ve had 13 years of free-loading with free prescriptions etc.
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