Charge on plastic carrier bags a great success story

Good news:

The number of plastic bags handed out by supermarkets in Scotland fell by 147 million last year - the first figures since a 5p charge was introduced.

The reduction came despite the levy for single-use bags only being in place for the final 11 weeks of the year.

But in England - where large shops will have to charge for plastic bags from October - 200 million more bags were used in 2014, Defra research suggested.

Northern Ireland saw usage fall by 42.6%, while Wales had a rise of 5.2%.

The fall in Scotland follows statistics released three months ago, which suggested the number of carrier bags being used by shoppers had fallen by 90%.

For more, see http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-33644662

Scotland has changed legislation on single-use plastic carrier bags

Today, Scotland's legislation on charging for single-use plastic carrier bags is coming into effect. The new legislation is bound to reduce the number of plastic bags, a vast number of which end up in the environment where they not only look unsightly but also endanger wildlife, especially when they end up in the sea.

For more details, please see here:
http://carrierbagchargescotland.org.uk