UK: Government doubles price of plastic carrier bags
The UK Government has unveiled plans to double the price of plastic bags across all shops in England. The move is part of a number of initiates to reduce the use of plastic.
Shoppers will have to pay 10p for plastic bags and the charge will no longer be restricted to large retailers. Small retailers that were except from imposing the charge until now supply an estimated 3.6 billion single-use bags annually, report the BBC.
"We want to do even more to protect our precious planet and today's announcement will accelerate further behaviour change and build on the success of the existing charge,” said Environment Secretary Michael Gove.
Since the 5p fee was introduced in 2015 for retailers with at least 250 employees, an estimated 15 billion bags have been taken out of circulation.
Association of Convenience Stores chief executive James Lowman said: "We welcome the government's plans to extend carrier bag charging to all shops.”
Meanwhile, schools are being urged to end the consumption of single-use plastics by 2022.
