Carrier bag use in Northern Ireland drops by 71.8 per cent following levy
The first set of official Carrier Bag Levy statistics for Northern Ireland released today (27 August) have revealed that in the first year of the five-pence charge for single-use carrier bags, carrier bag use dropped by 71.8 per cent.
According to figures from Northern Ireland’s Department of the Environment (DOE NI), between the introduction of the levy (8 April 2013) and 31 March 2014, the number of single-use plastic and paper bags issued by 3,189 retailers fell by around 215 million (from 300 million to 84.5 million).
The levy on bags issued generated net proceeds of £4.17 million, with more than half of this money, £2.3 million, already being allocated back into the community through the Challenge Fund, which seeks to ‘deliver community environmental projects to support wellbeing and prosperity’. A further £1.1 million has been allocated to the Natural Heritage Grant, Sustainability Innovation Fund and Local Clean-up Support.
Although a ‘small proportion’ of businesses are not yet registered with the department, work undertaken by DOE NI field staff has determined that ‘these businesses typically do not dispense single-use bags’.
Levy details
The levy appeared to have the largest impact on use in the first quarter of the year (April – June 2013), when 19.4 million bags were issued. This rose to 21.6 million in the second quarter (July – September 2013) and 24.0 million in quarter three (October – December 2013) before falling again in the final quarter (January – March 2014) to 19.5 million.
According to DOE NI, the upward trend in the two middle quarters could be attributed to ‘seasonal variation over both the summer and Christmas periods when tourists and shoppers were caught out without a bag’.
It is hoped that phase two of the levy, which will require retailers to add another five pence to all reusable bags with a retail price of less than 20 pence from 19 January 2015, will continue to drive the reduction in carrier bag use.
‘Retailers have risen to the challenge’
Environment Minister Mark H Durkan today welcomed the reduction in single-use carrier bags in the first year of the levy, saying: “The response from shoppers has been very positive and retailers have also risen to the challenge. The result has been a very significant reduction in single-use carrier bags.
“During the past year, I have ensured that money from the bag levy has gone back into the community through environmental projects. I have visited many of these projects and have been inspired by the great work being done.
“I am delighted to announce that £2.5 million of this year’s levy receipts will be available to support community projects. The community pays the levy, and I will ensure that the community gets the benefit of the levy.”
The next update of figures, for the year 2014/15, will be released in August 2015.
All of the UK nations now have in place or have plans for charges for carrier bags, with Wales introducing its charge in October 2011, Scotland set for its levy in October 2014, and England to introduce one in October 2015.