Plastic Bags: Charities

(asked on 2nd November 2021) - View Source

Question to the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs:

To ask Her Majesty's Government what assessment they have made, if any, of the environmental impact of the fundraising practice of delivering plastic charity bags to millions of households.


This question was answered on 16th November 2021

The Government’s 25 Year Environment Plan sets out our ambition to eliminate all avoidable plastic waste and we are making great strides to tackle plastic pollution. In December 2018 we published the Resources and Waste Strategy, which sets out how we want to achieve this and move towards a circular economy.

The single-use carrier bag charge has led to a 95% reduction in the consumption of these bags in the main supermarkets. To build on the success of the charge so far, in May this year we increased the charge to 10p and extended it to all retailers. We will be consulting later this year on banning a range of single-use plastic items, including single-use plastic plates, cutlery, and polystyrene cups.

We have not assessed the environmental impact of the fundraising practice of delivering plastic charity bags, and we have no immediate plans to investigate this practice. However, we are continuing to review the latest evidence on problematic products, and in particular single use items, and will carefully weigh up the different factors at play in considering any policy interventions where appropriate.

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