Charges for plastic bags

From April 2021 all retailers in England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Island must make a charge for plastic carrier bags. This law has been in place since 2015 for large retailers and has cut the use of plastic bags in England by 80% which is fantastic for the environment. From April we all have to follow this law.

Environment secretary George Eustice said: “The UK is already a world-leader in this global effort, and our carrier bag charge has been hugely successful in taking billions of harmful plastic bags out of circulation. But we want to go further by extending this to all retailers so we can continue to cut unnecessary waste and build back greener…I hope our pioneering track record on single-use plastics will inspire many more countries to follow suit, so we can take on plastic waste together”

As a butcher, deli and bakery we have to use plastic bags for some of the produce you are buying, where possible we have changed to recyclable bags and we will continue to look for cost effective alternatives. This law does not impact on the use of our small plastic bags.

The law relates to the carrier bags that we have used for years. The concept behind this charge is to help reduce single use plastic, and rather than us charging for the plastic bags we have sourced paper carrier bags which marries with the concept of plastic reduction and using bags that can be recycled. From this Monday these changes will be introduced, we will have these paper bags in two sizes which we will sell for 20p and 25p.

Whilst many of us have adjusted to having our own reusable bags this will, I am sure, frustrate some. We totally support the concept of reducing the consumption of single use plastic, this small change at our own little shop makes a global difference when all retailers follow suit. If you are not happy about the charge for a paper bag please ensure you bring a bag with you just like when you visit the supermarkets,