Retailers in Scotland have begun to charge shoppers a minimum of 5p for single-use carrier bags as of 20 October. Retailers can choose to donate the proceeds from the charge to charities across Scotland.
The Scottish government has introduced the charge to protect the environment, encourage bag re-use and reduce the amount of litter that these bags create. It will apply to all single-use carrier bags, whether they are made out of plastic, paper, or plant-based material.
Around 800 million single-use carrier bags are distributed by Scottish retailers every year, which is the most per head in the UK. The Scottish government is hoping that carrier-bag use will drop by up to 70 per cent as a result of the tax.
Scottish environment secretary Richard Lochhead said that he is hoping that people "stop and think about whether they really need to take another bag. Alternatives like bags-for-life are easy to get and are much more sustainable."
Bag taxes are already in place in other parts of the UK. Wales introduced a tax in October 2011, followed by Northern Ireland in April 2013. England will be the last part of the UK to introduce the tax, in October 2015.
© 2014 European Supermarket Magazine – Europe’s grocery retail magazine, for all your breaking supermarket, convenience-store and FMCG news. Article written by Nicole Gernon.
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