Issue Centre
Political issues at Rock the Vote

David Cameron expressed his concern over the use of carrier bags and the effect that they have on the environment, threatening to set up tough new laws forcing retailers to cut the number of plastic bags they issue if change isn’t instigated voluntarily.

The Prime Minister commended the efforts of all retailers who have contributed to the fall in the use plastic bags, including the ‘Banish the Bags’ campaign launched by the Daily Mail back in February 2008, as well as a drive by Marks & Spencer who have considerably reduced the use of bags by charging and then donating the money raised to charity.  Approximately £4m has already gone to good causes since they started charging in 2008 and it also led to an 80 per cent drop in the use of disposable bags.

But he said that despite the use of plastic bags falling over recent years, the most recent government figures showed an increase on last year.

In the past year, 6.4billion single-use plastic bags were handed out, up almost 5% when compared with 6.1billion in 2009/10, according to figures from Waste and Resources Action Programme, the Government’s waste reduction agency.

The figures also revealed that, while government action to tackle bag use in Northern Ireland and Wales led to a respective 14 per cent and seven per cent drop in the number of bags distributed, bag use in England and Scotland rose by seven per cent and nine per cent.

“Progress overall went backwards last year. That's unacceptable and we need to do better. I want to see the numbers going in the right direction again,” Mr Cameron said.

“I know that retailers want to do better too but if they don't I will be asking them to explain why not.

“They also need to know that the Government has options at its disposal - including legislating as other countries have done. We will continue to look carefully at all options in order to make sure that we further reduce the use of single use plastic bags.”

This year alone has seen some progress: earlier this month, Tesco opened its first disposable bag-free store in Somersham, keeping in line with the village’s plastic bag-free drive which has been on-going for three years, with all retailers agreeing not to offer them.

Meanwhile, retailers in Wales will start charging 5p on plastic bags from October 1 after the Welsh Assembly Government passed legislation. Single-use carriers handed out at tills will carry a 5p charge at every store in Wales and the accumulated money from the charges will be donated to worthy causes selected by the retailer. The scheme is aimed at cutting down the number of single-use carriers by 90 per cent and expected to garner £3million a year, providing a backing to charitable organisations struggling for funding.