Surfers Against Sewage has joined forces with three other leading environmental charities to call for a levy on single-use bags in England, following the success of such levies in Wales and Ireland.

Surfers Against Sewage, the Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), Keep Britain Tidy and the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) are calling on the Government to reduce litter and waste by requiring retailers to introduce a small levy on all single-use bags. Together we have launched the ‘Break the Bag Habit’ campaign.

Take action! 

SAS, together with our partner charities have written to the Environment Secretary Caroline Spelman calling for England to catch up with the other devolved nations and implement a bag levy.  You too can join SAS and call on your MP to support the Break The Bag Habits campaign and push for a bag levy in England here (take action) and contact your local paper promoting the campaign in your area.

Scotland: Scottish supporters, now is your opportunity to support a bag levy in Scotland.  The consultation is live and your voice could help protect Scottish beaches (take action).

Last year businesses in the UK issued plastic bags at a rate of 254 a second.  A total of eight billion ‘thin-gauge’ plastic bags were issued during 2011 – a 5.4 per cent increase on the 7.6 billion bags issued in 2010 [1].Over the past two years, the number of carrier bags used in England has increased despite repeated Government calls for retailers to reduce the numbers they give out.

All of this net growth in the use of such plastic bags came from England, the only home nation not to have a single-use bag levy in place or to be actively seeking to implement one [2].

The increase in carrier bag use mirrored a rise in plastic bags littering our streets and beaches [3]. Last year, during the Marine Conservation Society’s national ‘Beachwatch’ beach cleaning event, volunteers collected over 5,000 bags in just one weekend.

After the first year of such a scheme in Wales, charging 5p per bag, the number of single-use bags issued has fallen by between 70 and 96 per cent, as estimated by retailers. In turn, public support for the Welsh bag levy has grown to 70 per cent [4]. When Ireland introduced a plastic bag levy in 2002, plastic bag use fell by 90 per cent [5]. Before the Irish levy plastic bags made up five per cent of visible litter, afterwards it dropped to 0.32 per cent [6].

In 2011 David Cameron said about this issue: “Progress overall went backwards last year, and that is unacceptable. Retailers need to do better. I want to see significant falls again. I know that retailers want to do better too but if they don’t I will be asking them to explain why not [7].”

Notes:

• [1] WRAP, New figures on carrier bags use, 5 July 2012, http://bit.ly/Mk80Iy
• [2] See [1]
• [3] Keep Britain Tidy, The Local Environment Quality Survey in England, 2011
• [4] Welsh Government, Written Statement – ‘An update on the single use carrier bags charge in Wales’, 4 July 2012, http://bit.ly/LbTJHz
• [5] Irish Government, ‘Plastic Bag Levies: The Irish Experience’, 22 November 2011, http://bit.ly/LLoObt
• [6] See [4]
• [7] Daily Mail 29 September 2011
• The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE) fights for a better future for the English countryside. We work locally and nationally to protect, shape and enhance a beautiful, thriving countryside for everyone to value and enjoy. Our members are united in their love for England’s landscapes and rural communities, and stand up for the countryside, so it can continue to sustain, enchant and inspire future generations. Founded in 1926, President: Sir Andrew Motion, Patron: Her Majesty The Queen. www.cpre.org.uk
• Keep Britain Tidy is the anti-litter charity for England. We are passionate about cleaner greener places and run the Love Where You Live campaign, Eco-Schools, Green Flag Award for parks (in partnership with BTVC and GreenSpace), and Blue Flag/Quality Coast Awards for beaches. TV presenter Kirstie Allsopp is our ambassador. To find out more about us and to become a supporter visit www.keepbritaintidy.org.
• The Marine Conservation Society (MCS) is the UK charity dedicated to the protection of our seas, shores and wildlife. MCS campaigns for clean seas and beaches, sustainable fisheries, and protection of marine life. Through education, community involvement and collaboration, MCS raises awareness of the many threats that face our seas and promotes individual, industry and government action to protect the marine environment. www.mcsuk.org