Break the Bag Habit

02 August 2012

Keep Britain Tidy 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.

The Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE), Keep Britain Tidy (KBT), the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) and Surfers Against Sewage (SAS) are calling on the Government to reduce litter and waste by requiring retailers to introduce a small levy on all single-use bags. 

Together they have launched the ‘Break the Bag Habit’ campaign and are asking everyone to support it.

Reason behind the campaign

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.

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. The bulk of this increase 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.

Success for the bag levy scheme in Ireland and Wales

After the first year of a bag levy 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. Public support for the Welsh bag levy has grown to 70 per cent. When Ireland introduced a plastic bag levy in 2002, plastic bag use fell by a massive 90 per cent. Before the Irish levy plastic bags made up five per cent of visible litter, afterwards it dropped to just 0.32 per cent.

This shows that a bag levy scheme works and would help cut the amount of litter and waste on our streets, in our countryside and on our coastlines. The Break the Bag Habit campaign is calling for any proceeds from the bag levy to be used to fund environmental and recycling schemes.

Support 'Break the Bag Habit'

You can support the ‘Break the Bag Habit’ campaign by visiting the campaign website where you can send a letter to your MP and their local newspaper just by entering your name and postcode.

Visit the ‘Break the Bag Habit’ campaign website

Give your support today - together we can Break the Bag Habit!