With Wales set to implement mandatory charges for single-use bags, retailers elsewhere are wondering if they've done enough to stave off legislation. Chloe Ryan reports


This summer, supermarkets claimed a key victory in the high profile war on plastic bags. According to official figures from Wrap, the government's Waste and Resources Action Programme, the number of single-use bags given out has been cut by 48% in the past two years.

Despite narrowly missing Wrap's 50% target, the industry has been widely praised for changing consumer behaviour by encouraging them to use bags for life or reuse their own bags rather than requesting new ones, in exchange for loyalty card points. By demonstrating what could be achieved through voluntary measures, UK retailers thought they would have enough ammunition to silence any talk of regulation.

But now the Welsh Assembly is set to bring in a mandatory charge of between 5p and 15p within the next 18 months. Is this a sign that the free bag will be outlawed across the UK in the next few years?

Is England next?
The word from Westminster is that at present the government is not convinced a bag charge is the way to go in England. This may change next spring, when Wrap leads a review with Defra into the progress already made and assesses other avenues, including charging. "All the options are still on the table," a Defra spokeswoman confirms.

In the meantime, all eyes are on Wales. The proposals to charge for single-use carrier bags in Wales will become legislation this autumn and be brought into force by May 2011 at the latest, but most likely at some point during 2010.

Challenging single-use society
Rejecting the concept of single-use plastic carrier bags is a small but important way consumers can reduce their impact on the environment, believes Welsh environment minister Jane Davidson.

"They are a symbol of a throwaway society," she says. "I hope we reach the point where single-use items become unacceptable. We need to get away from the notion that we can just use products, throw them away and then expect them to be dealt with in an environmentally-friendly way by someone else."

Charging is supported by the majority of Welsh citizens and also has cross-party support in the Assembly, she claims.

Unsurprisingly, the big four supermarkets are less enamoured of the initiative and took advantage of the consultation period to voice their objections. "We believe charging for plastic bags will penalise customers," argues Jat Sahota, Sainsbury's head of corporate responsibility.

Their arguments have largely fallen on deaf ears. Davidson points out that no-one need pay any charge if they take their own bags with them. She adds that although retailers have taken positive steps to address the problem, the voluntary approach does not go far enough.

"If the single-use plastic bag is intrinsically a bad thing in a society that is looking to be more sustainable, even a 50% reduction still leaves 240 million plastic bags a year in Wales," she argues.

As the legislation makes its way through the Assembly, the big question still being debated is how much should be charged for the bags and where the proceeds should go.

"This is not in any way a tax," says Davidson. "The proposition is that the proceeds should be distributed to environmental projects via a third party organisation."

She says she is still open to suggestions from the industry on which causes should benefit and what level of charge would be best.

How much is too much?
While most retailers believe charging is a step too far, even those in favour of it believe the Welsh approach has two major flaws. Bag charging should be voluntary not mandatory, they argue, adding that a 5p to 15p charge is too high.

In East Anglia, the East of England Co-operative has seen a 84% drop in the number of single use bags used since it introduced charges of 1p for small bags and 2p for standard bags a year ago.

Chief executive Richard Samson is convinced even these nominal amounts have had a massive effect on behaviour at his 134 stores, because paying 1p or 2p is enough to jog the memory of consumers without penalising them.

"The amazing thing is the lack of complaints," he says. "Yes, you get the odd person who is irritated by the idea of paying for a bag, but most people say: 'Oh yes, I'll bring them next time.' From week one we had reductions in use of over 80% and we are saving half a million carriers a week."

In his opinion, 5p would be too much, let alone the "pretty horrendous" 15p at the upper end of the proposed scale in Wales. He suggests if supermarkets started voluntarily charging small amounts for bags now, the reduction would be sufficient to stop the government forcing retailers to charge.

"It would be a shame if we had to go down the route of mandatory charging," he says. "Customers are ready to solve this problem, but the lead should come from the major multiples."

It worked for M&S
The only national food retailer to implement a charge so far is Marks & Spencer. It started charging 5p for food carrier bags in May 2008 and has managed to reduce the number of carrier bags it issues by 80%, says sustainability manager Mike Barry. The proceeds of bag sales have generated £1.2m to date for environmental charity Groundworks, he adds.

Far from making people angry about paying for bags, the recession has actually strengthened consumer interest in sustainability, Barry insists. "It really makes people ask whether they can make things last or avoid waste," he explains. "As a business, we have seen that going green is the right thing to do commercially because reducing energy use and waste saves money."

Barry stops short of urging everyone else to follow suit, however. "Other people can decide the pros and cons. We have a specific business model and can show how it works for us, but we've only got a 4% market share."

They may have lost the battle in Wales, but the big four are still insisting their current tactics are enough. However, time is running out for them to prove their point.

If the charging scheme goes well in Wales, it is certain to be a key focus of Wrap and Defra's discussions in the new year. And although the Scottish Government says it has no immediate plans to introduce a charge, this could easily change now its new climate change legislation gives it the power to do so.

The halo effect generated by the supermarkets' 48% reduction in bag use may not be enough to stave off mandatory charging in Scotland or England for much longer.