A closer look at the 5p plastic bag charge

It was recently announced that from April 2021 the fee for plastic shopping carrier bags will double from 5p to 10p in England. Plus, the existing rule for the 5p charge currently only applies to shops which employ more than 250 people, however as of next year, smaller shops will no longer be exempt.

England’s main supermarkets have reported a 95% decline in the sale of plastic bags since the new rules came into effect in 2015. Clearly, the rules have had a positive impact, so is the increase in charge to 10p really necessary?

Total number of single use plastic bags reported

Has there actually been a reduction in the sale of plastic bags?

The total number of single use plastic bags purchased reported by retailers fell from 2.12 billion in 2016/2017 to 564 million in 2019/2020. Whilst this reduction is extremely positive, we must bear in mind that only 194 retailers submitted their data for 2019/2020, with 261 retailers in 2016/17. This means it is not an entirely fair comparison, and perhaps if all retailers had submitted their data it would not be such a glowing report.

England’s main retailers includes Asda, Marks & Spencer, Sainsbury’s Tesco, The Co-Operative Group, Waitrose and Morrisons. They collectively reported in 2019/2020 the issue of 0.226 million single use plastic bags. In 2014, the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) reported that these same retailers in England issued 7.6 billion single use carrier bags, prior to the charge being introduced.

This means between 2014 - 2020 there was a 97% reduction in the sale of plastic bags. Therefore, the claim that the sales of plastic carrier bags has reduced by more than 95% since the 5p rule came into effect is valid.

 

Where is the money going?

The number of retailers that voluntary supply annual information about their donations to good causes varies. However, around 40% of retailers – accounting for 76% of all bags reported in 2019/2020 – provided this information. In total, these retailers donated £9.2m to good causes this year (2019/2020) which is down from £65.4m in 2016/2017.

Amount donated by retailers to specific areas in 2019 to 2020

Percentage of retailers donating to different types of good causes in 2019 to 2020

Why the sudden increase in price?

An initial glance at the data provided by the government shows that the scheme has been widely successful, which begs the question, why increase the price to 10p? Greenpeace welcome the new rule and say it’s a step in the right direction, but argue that the government should be making “great strides” . They also claim that “raising the price of plastic bags but not taking action on bags for life is only looking at one part of the problem”.

Data shows that the UK’s biggest supermarket chains are using more plastic packaging than before, and this is partly caused by the increase in sales of ‘bags for life’. A 2019 report by the Environmental Investigation Agency and Greenpeace reveals that the carbon footprint of a typical ‘bag-for-life’ to be equivalent to that of a conventional single-use carrier, it needs to be used at least 4 times if it is a thin polyethylene bag and at least 11 times if it is a thicker polypropylene bag – but people are simply not doing this. Greenpeace have gone further with their criticism, renaming the bags to ‘bag for a week’.

This step by the government could be considered as a token gesture. It increases the cost for shoppers, but does not do the same for the companies that are responsible for packaging or manufacturing these same single use plastics.

Environment Secretary, George Eustice, admitted that the government had to postpone some sustainable actions, including banning plastic stirrers and straws because of COVID-19, but says these will come into force in October. This was whilst simultaneously dismissing a total ban on single use plastic bags all together.

Whilst the government might not be brave enough to ban plastic bags, Morrisons have taken this in their stride. They will phasing out plastic bags altogether in favour of paper bags. Hopefully some of the other big chains will follow suit.

What can you do?

Well, the answer is pretty simple… stop using single use plastic! Take your own tote bag to the shops, opt for products with minimal packaging, use shampoo, conditioner and soap bars, and use plastic free make-up wipes (or just stop using wipes altogether!). For more information on how to be plastic free, see our article on Plastic Free July.  

Words by Ayisha Paw