Resource Minister Dan Rogerson and other officials from the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) will today (18 December) be questioned on the sustainability of government’s proposal to introduce a five-pence charge in England for single-use plastic bags from ‘autumn 2015’.
The Environmental Audit Committee (EAC) will ask members of government to give evidence on how the scheme will work, and its expected consequences, at the first public evidence hearing on the subject since government announced plans to introduce the charge.
The EAC will also hear evidence from experts including those involved in implementing and evaluating the scheme in Wales. Unlike the Welsh scheme, the system proposed by the English government includes a series of exemptions from the charge, which have been criticised by litter campaign groups, retailers and the plastics and recycling industries – and the committee will also hear from representatives from these groups.
Witnesses that will be called to present evidence this afternoon include:
- Dan Rogerson MP, Minister for Water, Forestry, Rural Affairs and Resource Management, Defra;
- Dr Richard Swannell, Director of Sustainable Food Systems, WRAP;
- Laura Denison, Team Leader, Carrier bag policy, Defra;
- Matthew Quinn, Director for Environment, Welsh Government;
- Neil Sinden, Policy Manager, Campaign to Protect Rural England (CPRE);
- Andrew Opie, Director of Food and Sustainability, British Retail Consortium (BRC); and
- Barry Turner, Chief Executive, Packaging and Film Association (PAFA).
The committee will also be holding an additional session as part of this inquiry on 8 January, when they will take time to explore in more detail different ‘biodegradable’ materials and their implications for recycling and waste management systems.
Bag charge details
Under the proposed scheme, retailers will need to charge five pence to those wishing to use a plastic bag, in a bid to curb plastic bag litter.
The government also intends to incentivise the use of biodegradable plastic bags in England, which would also be exempt from the charge, as would paper bags. Retailers with fewer than 250 employees will also be exempt from the charge.
A plastic bag charge is already in place in Northern Ireland and Wales, and a similar charge will be introduced in Scotland in October 2014.
A Waste & Resources Action Programme (WRAP) study in July 2013 found that Wales’s charge led to a 76 per cent drop in the number of plastic bags issued, a figure that, it was claimed, increased to 96 per cent in some retail sectors.
The UK government has launched a Call for Evidence on a limited set of questions relating to the proposals for an English bag charge, which closes on Friday (20 December).
Read more about England’s proposals for a plastic bag charge or watch the hearing online from 2.15pm.
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