Exemption for small retailers
The
Government has ignored calls to include all retailers in the 5p plastic bag
charge, due to come into force in October 2015. This sets the English
policy apart from the successful universal schemes introduced in Wales and
Ireland and will limit the benefits it brings in terms of reducing litter,
waste and harm to wildlife, the Environmental Audit Committee
warns.
Exemption for paper bags
The
Government has, however, listened to concerns raised by the cross-party
Committee about the problems that could be caused for the UK’s recycling
industry by the proposed exemption for ‘biodegradable plastic
bags’. Ministers have accepted that it will not now be possible to
include this exemption when the charge is introduced next
year.
Chair of the Committee, Joan Walley MP,
said:
“The 5p bag charge is the right solution —
it will reduce litter, cut carbon emissions and reduce waste. Despite our
Committee’s recommendations, the Government has decided not to apply the
charge across the board, but to go ahead with its proposed exemptions. That
risks diluting the benefits of the charge. The decision to only include large
retailers is particularly short-sighted and ignores calls from all of the main
small retailer organisations to be included in the scheme. I am pleased,
however, that the Government has conceded that the proposed exemption for
biodegradable plastic bags could cause problems for the UK’s recycling
industry and will now not be included when the charge is introduced next
year.”
Small retailer organisations
The
Committee found that this proposed exemption for small retailers was not
supported by the Association of Convenience Stores, the National Federation of
Retail Newsagents or the British Retail Consortium, yet the Government still
maintains that “some SME representative bodies are in favour of being
included in the charge while others are opposed”. It does not name which
trade bodies are in favour.
Biodegradable plastic bags and risk of recycling
contamination
A
biodegradable plastic bag exemption was envisaged by the Government when it
consulted on the charge last November. However, the Environmental Audit
Committee recommended in its report in February that the Government should not
proceed with its plan for a biodegradable plastic bag exemption because of the
risk of contamination to plastic recycling and the potential confused messages
shoppers would get.
In
its response to the Committee’s report, the Government says that while it
still believes biodegradable plastic bags will be needed in future, it
acknowledges that it is “not aware that such a plastic bag currently
exists” and it would “represent a challenge to UK industry to
produce a genuinely biodegradable plastic bag that meets defined criteria and
which can be reliably identified and separated in waste”. The Government
conclude that a biodegradable plastic exemption: “will not be included in
the legislation until standards for the bags have been finalised … The
exemption will not come into effect with the legislation for the 5p charge in
October 2015.” Paper bags will, however, still be
exempt.
Chair of the Committee, Joan Walley MP,
said:
“The Government should think again about an
exemption for small businesses. The Government says simply that some trade
bodies are opposed. The Government should tell us which trade bodies are
against, so that we can see exactly what the evidence says for
ourselves.”
Background
In
the Queen’s speech, the Government announced its intention to go ahead
with the charge, although it would require a regulation to be introduced rather
than new legislation.
Ireland introduced a charge in 2002, and Wales
introduced a 5p charge in October 2011, leading to significant reductions in
use. Subsequently, Northern Ireland introduced a scheme in April 2013, and
Scotland will introduce a scheme in October 2014. None of these schemes have an
exception for small retailers.
The
Government’s proposals for England only apply to plastic bags. Unlike the
rest of the UK, it therefore does not apply to paper bags, which are
distributed by some High Street stores. It told the Committee that “paper
bags make up less than 0.1% of carrier bags distributed in the UK by the 7
major supermarket retailers”, but did not give data on other retailers,
such as High Street shops. Therefore, a shopper could be faced with having to
pay for a bag in some stores but not in others, depending on which material was
used.