Carrier bag tax starts today

SHOPPERS must pay for carrier bags from today as a minimum charge for every bag given out is introduced.
The charge applies regardless of whether the bags are paper, plastic or made from a biodegradable material. Picture: GettyThe charge applies regardless of whether the bags are paper, plastic or made from a biodegradable material. Picture: Getty
The charge applies regardless of whether the bags are paper, plastic or made from a biodegradable material. Picture: Getty

It will cost at least 5p for each single-use bag as the levy covers all retailers including supermarkets, high street stores, corner shops and takeaways.

The charge applies regardless of whether the bags are paper, plastic or made from a biodegradable material.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

MSPs overwhelmingly backed the move in a vote at Holyrood earlier this year.

The Scottish Government said councils picked up around 7.4 million bags a year. The charge has been introduced to reduce the number that become litter.

Tesco is pledging the cash raised to environmental charity Keep Scotland Beautiful.

Speaking at a store in Elgin, environment secretary Richard Lochhead said: “Huge numbers of these bags end up as litter, blighting our communities and clogging up our seas and natural habitats.

“We want that to change and for people to stop and think about whether they really need to take another bag.”

Mr Lochhead said it was “extremely heartening” to see retailers sign up to a commitment that includes a pledge to donate money raised through the charge to good causes.

Derek Robertson, chief executive of Keep Scotland Beautiful, said: “Our work with Tesco will make the best use possible of the money they collect.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

“We’ve delivered significant environmental improvements before and these bag-charge proceeds will allow us to do more, making Scotland cleaner, greener and more sustainable.’’

Figures show similar charges in Wales and Northern Ireland saw drops in new-bag use of between 70 and 80 per cent, environmental groups said.

Dr Richard Dixon, director of Friends of the Earth Scotland, said: “Plastic bags are just one symbol of our throwaway society and charging for their use is an important step in changing people’s behaviour.

“If the Scottish public don’t respond positively to this then we should examine other options, including increasing the charge per bag, or phasing out the sale of single-use plastic bags.”

Lang Banks, director of WWF Scotland, said a similar programme in Denmark reduced bag useage to just four per person per year. “Scots consume nearly 800 million carrier bags every year with millions ending up in landfill, polluting our environment and threatening wildlife,” he added

The Marine Conservation Society said the charge was a major step forward.

Iain Gulland, director of Zero Waste Scotland – which is supporting retailers to help them understand their legal requirements under the new regulations – said: “In Scotland we use hundreds of millions of single-use bags a year, an absurdity when you consider the resources used to make and transport an item for one use, before ending up as landfill or litter.”

Critics say much of the charge will go to the taxman as it will not be VAT-exempt, and that retailers will be under no legal obligation to hand over any of the cash to good causes.

Hide Ad
Hide Ad

Bill MacDonald of the Carrier Bag Consortium, who fought the legislation, said: “All it does is open the doors to the unscrupulous who will see the charge as a way to making a fast buck and some easy pocket money.’’‘

Related topics: