The Northern Ireland Executive has introduced a Carrier Bag Levy, meaning that, from 8th April, a minimum of 5p is charged per single-use bag provided in retailers across Northern Ireland. The levy has been introduced with the aim of reducing plastic waste and encouraging the reuse of carrier bags, of which 250 million are used annually in the province.
The issue of plastic carrier bags has been at the forefront of the environmental debate across Europe recently, with Environment Commissioner Janez Potocnik highlighting that in 2010, European citizens used the equivalent of 200 carrier bags per person, and that around 70% of plastic waste found in the marine environment is disposed single-use bags.
The Northern Ireland bag levy follows the introduction of a similar ‘bag tax’ in Wales, which saw a dramatic reduction in the use of plastic carrier bags in its first year, with some retailers virtually eliminating them from their stores. Contrary to this, a report released last year by the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) showed that plastic bag use in England was rising after years of decline. In 2011 English shoppers took home an average of 7.5% more plastic bags than in 2010.
