Single-use plastic carrier bags will carry a levy of five pence (6 cents) in Northern Ireland from April 2013, Alex Attwood, environment minister on the Northern Ireland Executive (Belfast; www.northernireland.gov.uk), announced on 30 January. The levy will increase to 10p (12 cents) in April 2014. There will be no charge for multi-use bags in 2013, which, however, will also be subject to a 10p charge in 2014.

The introduction of the plastic bag levy is a demonstration that the Northern Ireland government is dedicated to a clean and green agenda, Attwood said, adding that carrier bags are “a scourge on the environment” and that the levy will reduce the level of plastic bag usage from its current level of 160m a year.

“Evidence from other countries demonstrates that a bag levy is a simple and effective means to reduce substantially the negative environmental impact of carrier bag consumption,” he continued.

The levy is being pegged at 5p for the first 12 months so that consumers have time to change their behaviour and take their own bags when they shop. The charge is expected to raise up to GBP 4m (EUR 4.8m) annually, which will be used for environmental causes. Ten civil service jobs are to be relocated to Londonderry to administer the introduction of the tax.

The Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association (Belfast; www.niirta.com) is unhappy at the introduction of the levy, calling it a tax on hard-pressed, working families that will also add to the burden of red tape for small shops.

A charge for plastic bags was introduced in the Irish Republic in 2002, with consumption falling initially by 90%. The levy, currently 22 cents a bag, has raised over EUR 173m since its introduction. Wales introduced a charge for single-use bags of 5p on 1 October 2011 – see Plasteurope.com of 07.09.2011.