Plastic bag charge to be discussed

Shopping in Wales looks like it could get a bit more expensive as plans to introduce a seven pence charge for a plastic carrier bag are discussed by the Assembly.

The mandatory charge, which has been driven by Welsh Environment Minister, Jane Davidson, is being introduced to dramatically reduce the number of single use carrier bags used in Wales.

More than 400 million single use carrier bags are currently given out to Welsh shoppers each year.
Most of these bags then end up littering our country or in landfill where they release harmful greenhouse gasses into the environment and take between 500 and 1000 years to degrade.

The Minister is proposing a charge of 7p per bag to transform shopping habits and reduce the number of single use carrier bags given out in Wales.

Speaking about this issue, the Environment Minister said:

“Carrier bags are an iconic symbol of the throwaway society in which we live. Whilst I know that reducing our use of single use carrier bags is not going to solve all our environmental problems, the charge delivers an important message about the need for us to live much more sustainable lives.