Environment: Plastic Bags

Lord Anderson of Swansea Excerpts

Tuesday 14th May 2013 Lords Chamber

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, my noble friend works tirelessly on this subject. I acknowledge the thrust of her question, although I am not aware of any evidence from Wales that any such savings are being passed on to consumers through lower prices, but we will continue to monitor the situation there. Retailers operate in a competitive environment, and consumers can choose to shop around. Indeed, evidence shows this is a growing trend.

[Lord Anderson of Swansea]

My Lords, the pilot scheme in Wales has lasted for several years. Will the Minister spell out very clearly the objections to the implementation of the scheme in England?

[Lord De Mauley]

My Lords, as I just said, we are monitoring the charging scheme in Wales and data from the first year will not be available until the summer. I understand that unintended consequences in the Republic of Ireland included an increase in sales of bin liners because consumers no longer used free carrier bags to line their bins. The production of bin liners has a bigger environmental impact than single-use carrier bags. In addition, following the introduction of the charge in Wales there was an increase in sales of bags for life. As the aim of a charge is to reduce use, it could result in a worse environmental outcome if they are used only once or twice, because they need to be used at least four times to have a lower carbon footprint than single-use carrier bags. We need to consider all the impacts in the round, and we will consider very carefully instituting a charge.