15p bag fee!!!! - 29th Jun 2009 11:55am
Welsh plan may mean 15p bag fee
Plans to drastically reduce the use of plastic carrier bags have been revealed by the Welsh Assembly Government.
![[Linked Image]](http://1.2.3.10/bmi/newsimg.bbc.co.uk/media/images/45783000/jpg/_45783551_005237336-1.jpg)
Environment minister Jane Davidson has announced a series of proposals which could see shops charge as much as 15p for a bag.
If agreed, Wales would lead the UK on dealing with cutting plastic bag use.
The BBC's Wyre Davies says the move will be welcomed by environmentalists, but is likely to be criticised by plastics and packaging manufacturers.
He says they fear hundreds of jobs would be lost in their industry and want more emphasis placed on encouraging people to re-use their plastic bags instead.
An estimated 480m carrier bags are used in Wales each year and it takes between 500 and 1,000 years for them to degrade.
In February, the Welsh Assembly Government became the first administration in the UK to start work on legislation to end the use of free single-use plastic bags.
Last month, a bilingual campaign called Get Carried Away was launched to encourage people in Wales to reduce the number of plastic bags which are used just once.
At the time, Ms Davidson said: "As a minister I have always stated that I do not support the use of one-trip plastic bags.
"I have asked my department to develop legislation to end the use of single-use carrier bags."
The Conservative environment spokesperson in the assembly, Angela Burns, said firm proposals needed to be put in place by Ms Davidson "sooner rather than later".
She said: "We would be supportive of any moves to reduce the number of plastic bags being used in Wales and have been calling for a levy to be placed on them for some time now.
"Introducing a levy would hopefully provide us with a nationwide scheme which has the support of manufacturers, retailers, consumers and environmental groups."
THE BBC
Plans to drastically reduce the use of plastic carrier bags have been revealed by the Welsh Assembly Government.
Environment minister Jane Davidson has announced a series of proposals which could see shops charge as much as 15p for a bag.
If agreed, Wales would lead the UK on dealing with cutting plastic bag use.
The BBC's Wyre Davies says the move will be welcomed by environmentalists, but is likely to be criticised by plastics and packaging manufacturers.
He says they fear hundreds of jobs would be lost in their industry and want more emphasis placed on encouraging people to re-use their plastic bags instead.
An estimated 480m carrier bags are used in Wales each year and it takes between 500 and 1,000 years for them to degrade.
In February, the Welsh Assembly Government became the first administration in the UK to start work on legislation to end the use of free single-use plastic bags.
Last month, a bilingual campaign called Get Carried Away was launched to encourage people in Wales to reduce the number of plastic bags which are used just once.
At the time, Ms Davidson said: "As a minister I have always stated that I do not support the use of one-trip plastic bags.
"I have asked my department to develop legislation to end the use of single-use carrier bags."
The Conservative environment spokesperson in the assembly, Angela Burns, said firm proposals needed to be put in place by Ms Davidson "sooner rather than later".
She said: "We would be supportive of any moves to reduce the number of plastic bags being used in Wales and have been calling for a levy to be placed on them for some time now.
"Introducing a levy would hopefully provide us with a nationwide scheme which has the support of manufacturers, retailers, consumers and environmental groups."
THE BBC