Five pence bag levy for Northern Ireland

A five pence levy on ‘single use carrier bags’ is set to come into effect in Northern Ireland from 8 April 2013, following the proposal’s formal approval by the Northern Ireland Assembly earlier this week (14 January).

In addition to plastic bags, the levy will also apply to those made of paper, plant-based material and natural starch.

However, no formal charge will apply for bags used for ‘hygiene and food safety’, ‘the protection of both goods and consumers’, or ‘confidentiality in respect to prescription medicines’.

It is estimated that 250 million ‘single use carrier bags’ are used in Northern Ireland every year, a figure that is expected to fall by ‘at least 80 per cent’ following the introduction of the levy.

The Environment Minister for Northern Ireland, Alex Attwood, said: “[The] backing from the Assembly is an important milestone in introducing the carrier bag levy. It means the carrier bag levy regime can ‘go live’ on 8 April.

“Recent statistics have shown a significant increase in single use carrier bags handed out by major supermarkets in Northern Ireland - it is the big retailers which I am most interested in.

“The key objective of the carrier bag levy is to reduce or eliminate the unnecessary use of bags, regardless of the material from which they are made. The introduction of charging will help to communicate the wider ‘reduce and reuse’ waste message.”

According to Attwood, the net proceeds of the levy will go to the Department of the Environment (DoE) and be used to fund ‘environmental programmes and activities’.

The minister has also proposed that should the levy prove a success, he would increase the charge to 10p and extend it to include low cost reusable bags.

A five pence plastic bag levy has been in place in Wales since October 2011 and was last year deemed a success by Welsh Environment Minister John Griffiths, following a 96 per cent reduction in bag usage in some retail sectors.

Similar measures are not currently in place in England, though in August 2012 a survey conducted by Which? found that 56 per cent of adults were in favour of an enforced charge.

Read more about the plastic bag levy.