A national campaign for a charge on single use plastic bags will hit Brighton tomorrow in the shape of a Bag Monster at the Lush store on East Street.
Local MP Caroline Lucas will join the Bag Monster – dressed in a costume created from over 100 plastic bags - and staff at Lush Brighton, to highlight the results of a high street survey conducted by the store.
The majority of participants in the survey - over 70% - supported the introduction of a 5p charge on single use carrier bags.
Last month, a survey carried out for the Break the Bag Habit campaign found that 75 per cent of those asked would think twice about taking single-use carrier bags if a 5p charge was applied [1].
Break the Bag Habit is a joint campaign between Campaign to Protect Rural England, Keep Britain Tidy, the Marine Conservation Society and Surfers Against Sewage.
The survey follows the successful implementation of a 5p bag charge in Wales which saw bag use fall by up to a 95 per cent [2].
Public support for the Welsh 5p charge rose from 59 per cent before its introduction, to 70 per cent following the first six months of bag charging [3].
Under the Welsh model retailers donate money raised from the 5p charge to charity.
Unlike in Wales and Northern Ireland, there is currently no plan for England to require retailers to implement a 5p charge - Scotland is currently consulting on introducing charging.
Brett, manager at Lush Brighton, said:
"All single use carrier bags are rubbish. Plastic bags pollute our beaches, countryside and cities for thousands of years.
"The ‘greenest government ever’ has pulled back from every environmental commitment promised, making it more difficult than ever for business to be green.
"We beg George Osborne to recognise public opinion, retailers’ needs and the success of bag charges in other countries and to announce a compulsory charge in his Autumn Statement."
Caroline Lucas, MP for Brighton Pavilion, said:
"Plastic bags make a mess of our streets and green spaces and cause huge environmental problems – from the oil-based materials used to make them, to the vast numbers lying as waste in open landfill sites.
"We’ve already seen an encouraging shift towards ‘bags for life’, but an obligatory ‘plastax’ on single use bags would be a great way of making sure that re-usable bags are the norm.
"When we debate this issue in Parliament next week, I hope ministers will finally agree with the need for a plastic bag tax [4].
"Schemes elsewhere have been very successful and there’s real public support for the measure, so what’s the government waiting for?"
A spokesperson from the Break the Bag Habit campaign said:
"All the evidence shows that a charge on single use bags works and is popular with consumers.
"We urge the Government to listen to retailers, the public and members of their own party and bring in a charge for England.
"This would be a simple and easy step to reduce litter, bring England in line with the rest of the UK and help the Government achieve its aim of being the greenest ever.”
ENDS
Notes to Editors
[1] http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2012/sep/21/england-carrier-bag-charge-poll
[3] Welsh Government, Written Statement – ‘An update on the single use carrier bags charge in Wales’, 4 July 2012, http://bit.ly/LbTJHz
[4] Westminster Hall debate on plastic bag taxation, 17 October
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