Tories set to extend 5p plastic bags levy
THERESA May is poised to extend the 5p plastic carrier bag levy to include all shops, under plans to end Britain’s ‘profligate’ waste of natural resources.
The Prime Minister is expected to announce today that she will scrap an exemption for stores with fewer than 250 employees from charging customers for single-use plastic bags.
The levy was brought in following the Daily Mail’s Banish the Bags campaign.
Mrs May yesterday told Cabinet ministers of her plans for a 25-year environment strategy to clamp down on throwaway bottles, coffee cups and other waste. She said it would ‘send a strong message to the public about the Government’s commitment to be the first generation to leave the natural environment in a better state than we inherited’.
Mrs May, who hinted at new taxes on single-use plastic at the weekend, added: ‘The Government has a clear belief in conserving what is good and standing against the profligate use of resources whether that be public money or natural resources.’ Government sources were tight-lipped about the precise plans, but a deposit scheme for plastic bottles and new taxes on throwaway plastics, such as disposable coffee cups, are both under consideration.
Environment Secretary Michael Gove will give a presentation on the strategy, highlighting the impact of the plastic bag tax. Mr Gove said: ‘The 5p plastic bag showed what can be achieved through targeted action. There’s been a nearly 90 per cent reduction in bags. The Government is determined to tackle the throwaway culture which plastics encapsulate.’
He also confirmed that he is working with International Development Secretary Penny Mordaunt on using the £13 billion foreign aid budget to tackle the tide of plastic poisoning the world’s oceans.
The move came after Storm Eleanor left behind a shocking tide of plastic waste on some of Britain’s finest beaches.
A clampdown would represent a huge victory for the Mail’s campaign to Turn the Tide on Plastic. The issue was also highlighted in David Attenborough’s Blue Planet II series at the end of last year.
Last week, the Commons environmental audit committee called for a 25p ‘latte levy’ on throwaway coffee cups – and a total ban if they are not made recyclable within five years.
The move is part of a wider Conservative drive to rebuild its reputation with younger voters by highlighting its green credentials. Ministers have already unveiled plans to crack down on ivory and increase sentences for animal abusers.
In recent days, Mrs May has also announced funding to plant 50 million trees to create a new ‘northern forest’ stretching from Liverpool to Hull.
The Treasury is already poised to launch a consultation on a new tax in the coming weeks. The initial focus of any new tax is likely to be on single-use plastic products which cannot be recycled, such as polystyrene packaging, disposable coffee cups and bubble wrap. But it could also include items such as plastic bottles, which can be recycled but are often binned.
It comes as the Environment Department considers whether a deposit scheme for plastic bottles.
An estimated 12 million tons of plastic is dumped in the oceans each year. More than one million birds and 100,000 turtles, whales and dolphins die from eating or getting tangled in plastic waste.
There are also concerns about the potential impact on food chains.
Environmental groups have welcomed indications that the Government could introduce a tax but have urged ministers to act swiftly and decisively.
DRAMATIC images of Cornish beaches covered in a tidal wave of waste plastic, churned up from the ocean’s depths by Storm Eleanor, are a stark reminder of the grotesque damage pollution is doing to our coastline and countryside.
On Thursday, Theresa May is to launch a 25- year strategy to tackle our toxic throwaway culture. With experts warning that by 2050 – at current rates – there will be more plastic in the sea by weight than fish, we need a recycling revolution.