Lack of publicity over England's shops charging 5p a bag

chocolatelover93

ScarletMarble wrote: »

In just over a month's time, on 5th October, retailers that employ more than 250 employees across England will levy the 5p charge to customers.

I and a few colleagues have started to warn those customers in my shop where I work that have the tendency to insist getting a bag for one or two items, even though they are carrying another bag from another shop with just one item. A few thought I was talking rubbish about the bag charge!

Hardly any publicity. When is it going to be more publicised? I remember Wales having loads of publicity months before the date.

If it carries on like this for the next 5 weeks, customers will be shouting at us saying 'Oh I'm going to Tesco' (they will charge 5p a bag you morons).

Why do customers insist on having a separate carrier bag for each shop they visit?

Has anyone else noticed the lack of publicity?

I totally agree I work in a supermarket and not seen ANYTHING at all explaining it which means that people will all be moaning at staff about it.

I think it's a really good idea that they're making people pay there's enough rubbish in landfills and not everyone recyles. I use my old bags as bin bags at home or re-use them when shopping.

I don't get the need for people to carry 100 different bags with them when they go shopping I think for some people they want people to look at them and think "ooh look where they've been!!" I shove as much as I can in the same bag can't stand carry loads with me. Plus if I know I'm gonna be getting a lot I have a little old ladies (hubbys words not mine) trolly that I put things in!!

BlueEyedGirl

I spotted a tiny sign on the till in Lloyds Pharmacy this afternoon. That is all I have seen!

thegirlsmum

northern ireland's charge was increased recently and so most shops now charge a lot more. so don't complain about 5 pence because it canonly go up!!

mije1983

thegirlsmum wrote: »

northern ireland's charge was increased recently and so most shops now charge a lot more. so don't complain about 5 pence because it canonly go up!!

And some retailers may well charge more than 5p from the start as it is just a minimum charge, not a set one.

wheelz

trotter09 wrote: »

Anybody who believes charging for plastics bags will make one jot of difference to the planet's climate is bonkers.

Plastic bags go into landfill. Landfill causes air and ground (water) pollution. Less waste is less lorries/traffic etc. etc. Bags also litter the environment.

wheelz

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/single-use-plastic-carrier-bags-why-were-introducing-the-charge/single-use-plastic-carrier-bags-why-were-introducing-the-charge

There's a video and transcript.

wheelz

From https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/single-use-plastic-carrier-bags-why-were-introducing-the-charge/single-use-plastic-carrier-bags-why-were-introducing-the-charge

From 5 October 2015, large shops in England will have to charge five pence for all single use plastic carrier bags they provide. In 2013, the major supermarkets in England gave out over 7.4 billion plastic bags – that’s 133 bags for every person. To protect our environment from litter and pollution we are committed to bringing this number down.

The five pence charge on single use plastic carrier bags could reduce usage by as much as 80% in the big supermarkets. Small retailers don’t have to charge but can do so on a voluntary basis. You can avoid paying the charge either by reusing single use plastic carrier bags, or by using multi-use bags for life. You also won’t pay a five pence charge if you’re using a paper bag, if you’re in transit, or if your bag only contains certain items, such as unwrapped food, raw meat and fish, prescription medicines, uncovered blades, seeds, bulbs and flowers, or live fish.

Retailers need to keep track of how many plastic bags they’ve given out and where the proceeds have gone … and report this to Government by 31 May every year. We expect good causes to benefit from the charge by tens of millions of pounds each year.

1. Which shops will charge for bags
Only retailers with 250 or more employees will need to charge for single-use plastic carrier bags. This is to reduce the administrative burden on small and medium sized businesses. They can however charge on a voluntary basis if they wish.

Whether or not a shop will charge for bags depends on the size of the company that runs the shop, not on the size of an individual branch. Where a shop is run as a franchise, it depends on the number of people employed by the owner of the franchise. There’s more information in our guidance for retailers.

2. Bags for life
As a shopper, you can avoid being charged by bringing your own bags or containers. In some shops, you will be able to buy thicker, reusable ‘bags for life’. Typically, you pay for these once, and can return them for a free replacement when they wear out.

3. Exemptions
There are some exemptions from the charge:

paper bags
shops in transit places such as airports, or on board trains, aeroplanes or ships
bags only containing certain items, such as unwrapped food, raw meat and fish, prescription medicines, uncovered blades, seeds, bulbs and flowers, or live fish

4. Biodegradable bags
There is currently no exemption for biodegradable bags, but we are reviewing industry standards for the biodegradability of lightweight plastics. We also need to be sure that biodegradable bags could be identified and separated during the waste management and recycling process.

We will publish a report on the findings from the review before October 2015.

5. Benefits
The scheme aims to reduce the use of single-use plastic carrier bags, and the litter associated with them, by encouraging people to re-use bags.

In 2014 over 7.6 billion single-use plastic bags were given to customers by major supermarkets in England. That’s something like 140 bags per person, equivalent to 61,000 tonnes in total. They take longer than other bags to degrade in the environment, can damage wildlife, and are extremely visible when littered in our towns, parks and the countryside.

Despite research showing that the average household already has 40 plastic bags around the home, the number of plastic bags taken from supermarkets increased for the fifth year running in 2014.

We expect to see a significant reduction in the use of single-use plastic carrier bags as a direct result of the charge - by as much as 80% in supermarkets and 50% on the high street.

Similar 5p charges are already in place across Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland. The scheme in Wales saw a reduction in plastic bag consumption of 79% in its first 3 years.

We estimate that over the next 10 years the benefits of the scheme will include:

an expected overall benefit of over £780 million to the UK economy
up to £730 million raised for good causes
£60 million savings in litter clean-up costs
carbon savings of £13 million

6. How the proceeds will be used
This is not a tax and the money from the charge does not go to the government. Retailers are expected to donate the proceeds of the scheme to good causes, but it is for them to choose which causes to support. Retailers are required to report to us about what they do with the money from the charge, and we will publish this information each year.

The charge in Wales has already generated millions of pounds for good causes.

p00hsticks

chocolatelover93 wrote: »

I totally agree I work in a supermarket and not seen ANYTHING at all explaining it which means that people will all be moaning at staff about it.

Is it just me that thinks that a few weeks notice would be plenty of time, and is relieved that (apart from this thread) people aren't yet making a big thing of it ?

How much explanation do people actually need ? Will a simple "It's now the law we have to charge at least 5p for a carrier bag" not cut it ?

I think I need to start another 'vent' thread to moan about how TV channels now start trailing new series so far in advance, with just "coming soon", that by the time it eventually starts you tend to actually miss it.....

... or pointing out that the Co-op have started selling mince pies..

peachyprice

suki1964 wrote: »

The strangest experience is going clothes shopping. Once it was a pretty glam affair, walking around with all your different bags from different shops, advertising to the world where you shopped. Now you have to take your own bags its really not the same

Ah, but the swankiest shops use fancy paper bags, just go to those first before popping into M&S for your smalls

suki1964

peachyprice wrote: »

Ah, but the swankiest shops use fancy paper bags, just go to those first before popping into M&S for your smalls

We get charged for ALL bags so makes no difference