With three days to go until the 5p Welsh carrier bag charge is enforced shoppers are being urged to be fully aware of it’s implications so that they are not caught out.
From Saturday Wales will become the first UK country to introduce a charge for single-use carrier bags and people are being urged to prepare ahead so they are not caught bagless at the till.
Retailers will begin charging five pence for single use carrier bags as of Saturday as part of efforts to reduce the levels of littering and pollution caused by discarded plastic bags.
The move is predicted to raise thousands of pounds for local good causes or environmental projects who will directly receive money raised by the charge with none going to the Welsh Government.
There had been some concerns of a potential administrative burden on small businesses as each bag sale is required to be recorded, but the Welsh Government has since said that shops with fewer than 10 staff will be exempt from keeping records on the forthcoming carrier bag levy.
However, small businesses are still legally obliged to enforce the charge and pass the money on to environmental causes or local charities.
Last year households in Wales took home an average of 273 bags from supermarkets and the Welsh Government believes the new rule will mean one tenth of this number will be brought home.
It is hoped that this will lead to vastly reduced rates of littering, which currently cost local authorities an estimated £1 million to clear each year.
Wrexham AM Lesley Griffiths said: “It is important people are aware charging is being introduced this Saturday, nobody wants people to find themselves caught out at the till.
“However, it is equally important people know the reasons for this change.
“Plastic carrier bags are a significant contributor to the pollution of our wonderful landscape here in Wales and each local authority spends thousands of pounds every year clearing the litter they cause.
“This move is welcome as it will free up council resources to be used elsewhere and tackle pollution to boot.
“We have worked closely with business to bring the charge to affordable levels and there will be a period in which this will not be enforced to allow people to get used to the change.”
From October 1st to January 1st, there will be a settling in period during which the charge will not be enforced by local authorities.
She added: “From next Saturday, people should try to bring old bags with them, or switch to reusable bags on sale at most supermarkets.”
Do you think that the carrier bag charge is a positive move for Wales? Leave your thoughts in the comment box below.
streeter
October 03, 2011 at 1:59pmAlso we don’t get the extra points in Tesco now, but they still do in England. So we all get caught even if we were using our own bags for shopping. Same on the Welsh government. The profit should go to reduce our council tax which is going up unlike England.
Liam
September 30, 2011 at 8:21pmPeople keep saying “it’s only 5p”, but it’s not. It’s 5p for every single purchase you make within Wales. Some purchases will need several bags.That will soon add up!
Don’t get me wrong, I firmly believe that if you plan on going to the supermarket to do your shopping you should bring a reusable bag with you. It makes sense and they are less likely to break anyway, but this new rule covers everything.
If you go somewhere like a record shop, a clothes shop or anywhere else apart from a supermarket, you are more likely to make impulse purchases and so will not have suitable bags with you. And are we really expected to shove EVERYTHING into the same bags? Our magazines will be creased by our skinny jeans, our DVDs will be squashed by our mushy peas. It is madness. We are effectively being taxed for shopping in Wales. Thanks for that.
And unlike the rule in Ireland (which actually makes sense) we are being charged for paper bags as well, which means when we go somewhere like McDonald’s we will either have to carry our food home / to the car in our bare hands, bung it all in a reusable bag which we just *happen* to have on our person, (yeah, like everyone brings a jute bag to KFC) or be charged for the ‘luxury’ of keeping our limp french fries warm and safe until we get to our destination.
And a little notice would have been nice. They only started advertising this about a month ago.
LMT
September 28, 2011 at 9:42pmHere in Wrexham we have an excellent culture of recycling, for some of us this extends to the “free” plastic shopping bags. I have my basket and jute bags at the ready but will need to buy plastics bags to replace those I recycle.
Thomas Buckler
September 28, 2011 at 7:26pmAndy, can I just clarify, you won’t shop in Wales anymore because of this charge. Is it really that difficult to take a few ‘bags for life’?
Andy
September 28, 2011 at 6:09pmI’ll just shop in England instead.
Hope Tesco in Broughton doesn’t make employees redundant as 100′s of others are planning to do the same.