Environmental campaigners in England have raised concerns over the government's failure to confirm its promise to introduce a tax on single-use carrier bags. The Environment minister Richard Benyon had pledged in June 2012 that a decision would be made on a proposal to charge for single-use bags before the end of the year. No decision was taken in 2012, however, and there is no firm timetable for action, according to the Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra, London; www.defra.gov.uk). In June Benyon had said that the timetable to make a decision before the end of the year would enable full consideration to be taken on the effect of the introduction of a similar levy in Wales in October 2011, and on the results of a European Commission study on possible measures to reduce usage of plastic carrier bags – see Plasteurope.com of 29.10.2012.

Green Party MP Caroline Lucas says England urgently needs legislation for introducing a mandatory tax on every plastic bag used. In a letter to the secretary of state for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, she said: “Such a levy would help address some of the environmental problems caused by single-use plastic bags, from the oil-based materials used in their production to the vast numbers lying as waste in open landfill sites, damaging wildlife whether they end up strewn across our towns and streets or the countryside and our green spaces.” Lucas’s colleague and Green Party leader Natalie Bennett emphasised this viewpoint, earlier this month, by saying it is now time for England to catch up with the rest of the UK. She also made the point that a tax on single-use bags is part of the agreed policy of the Liberal Democrats, partners with the Conservatives in the present British government.

Break the Bag Habit is a campaigning group supported by the Campaign to Protect Rural England, Keep Britain Tidy, the Marine Conservation Society and Surfers Against Sewage that is in favour of a bag tax. Its spokeswoman, Samantha Harding, says it is unacceptable for the government to sit back and monitor the situation, giving no indication as to how long it is going to monitor. “Why is a charge not happening in England?” she asks. This view is given greater credence by the results, announced in September 2012, of a poll commissioned by the Break the Bag Habit coalition that found that over half of English adults (56%) think it is not unreasonable to charge for carrier bags. Only 25% of respondents disagreed.

England is missing a trick by not introducing a charge on carrier bags and there is no excuse for procrastination, according to the Welsh environment minister, John Griffiths, who introduced the 5p charge in Wales in 2011. His remarks followed the release of figures that showed the Welsh charge raised more than GBP 800,000 for charities in its first year. Referring to Defra’s monitoring of the bag levy in Wales, Griffiths said the evidence in Wales is quite clear and had delivered on all the expected outcomes: far less litter in streets and countryside, behavioural change and public support. "I can see no reason why the charge wouldn't work just as well in other parts of the UK," he added.

Trade bodies such as the Packaging and Films Association (PAFA, Nottingham; www.pafa.org.uk) and the British Plastics Federation (BPF, London / UK; www.bpf.co.uk) have argued that further progress towards reducing bag usage would be achieved by building on the success of the voluntary industry code introduced in 2004. However, that approach has been somewhat undermined by the latest statistics from the Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP, Banbury / UK; www.wrap.org.uk) that showed in 2011 there was a 7.5% increase in bag consumption in England to 6.8 bn units, equivalent to a per capita use of 10.8 bags a month – see Plasteurope.com of 12.07.2012.

Scotland is scheduled to report this year on the results of its consultation into the proposal to introduce a mandatory charge of 5p, or more, per bag for all retailers – see Plasteurope.com of 03.07.2012. Northern Ireland is introducing its own 5p levy in April.