The UK government has waived the 5p charge on plastic carrier bags for online deliveries, in response to the ongoing coronavirus outbreak.
The waiver will allow supermarkets to speed up their processing of online deliveries at a time of unprecedented demand, following the spread of the COVID-19 virus.
Environment Secretary George Eustice announced the ban as part of a raft of measures aimed at ensuring a steady supply of goods to consumers, with many supermarket shelves stripped by panic buyers as restrictions tighten in response to the global pandemic.
“We need people to calm down and buy only what they need and think of others while purchasing,” said Eustice.
“We recognise that this is a challenging time and there are many things that the government is asking the nation to do differently.
“Be responsible when you shop and think of others. Buying more than you need means others may be left without and it is making life more difficult for our frontline workers, who are working so hard under such difficult circumstances.”
This is the first time the 5p ‘carrier bag tax‘ has been waived since it came into effect in England in October 2015, following earlier introductions in Wales (October 2011), Northern Ireland (April 2013) and Scotland (October 2014).
The charge was introduced in a bid to reduce the amount of plastic waste produced and it had an immediate effect on consumer behaviour – for a while at least.
The number of carrier bags given out by supermarkets in England dropped by 74% in the first two years – from 7.6 billion in 2014 to two billion in 2016, with Wales (71%), Northern Ireland (72%) and Scotland (80%) reporting similar decreases in the first 12 months of their respective schemes.
Long-term changes in consumer habits have not all been quite so positive, however.
A report in November 2019 found that seven of the UK’s ten leading supermarkets had actually increased the amount of plastic packaging they use in the previous 12 months, including a 25 percent increase in the use of ‘bags for life’.
These sturdy plastic bags – which must be used four times to be deemed more eco-friendly than a traditional carrier bag – were designed to be used until they wore out, but the report suggests that this is not happening, with 1.5 billion of them handed out in 12 months – the equivalent of 54 per UK household.
