Shoppers could face 10p tax on plastic carrier bags

Every local council in London is backing changes in the law which would force shops in the capital to charge for carrier bags. If the scheme is successful, the rest of Britain is expected to follow suit.

The proposals have angered retailers who say the proposals are tokenistic, given that carrier bags make up only a tiny fraction of the plastic waste thrown away each day.

And there are fears that the levy - which would cover market traders as well as supermarkets - is unworkable and could become yet another stealth tax.

The plans come from a coalition of 33 Labour, Conservative and LibDem councils which claim an identical scheme introduced in Ireland cut the number of plastic bags handed out each year by one billion.

In theory, the money paid by customers for bags would be passed on by retailers to the local authority.

A spokesman for the London Councils association said: "This is not about raising money, but encouraging people not to use plastic bags unnecessarily. Any money from the sale of bags would go to fund other environmental schemes."

The plans will be included in a London Local Authorities Bill due to be put before MPs in November. The councils say reducing the number of bags used in Britain each year - 13billion - will reduce carbon dioxide emissions by 58,500 tons - the equivalent of taking 18,000 cars off the roads.

Other local authorities are watching closely. If the scheme is approved, other councils will use their powers to put forward similar bills.

However, retailers reacted furiously to the proposals. Kevin Hawkins, director-general of the British Retail Consortium, said plastic bags made up less than 1 per cent of waste going to landfill. "An across-the-board cut or even ban on bags is not appropriate," he said.

"They are needed for unplanned shopping trips. They protect large and easily damaged items.

"The effect of the Irish bag tax is waning and supporters ignore its unintended consequences.

"Retailers have switched to heavier paper bags and sales of thick plastic bin bags have shot up as customers no longer have shop bags to line their bins.

"Both use more energy in manufacture and transport and are more environmentally harmful than thin plastic carrier bags."

The Government is also sceptical. The Department for the Environment, Food and Rural Affairs said there was a danger that people would use more paper bags instead.

"If they use a paper bag just once and throw it away, it breaks down in a landfill tip and releases greenhouse gases," a spokesman said. "You can't automatically assume that plastic bags are worse for the environment than paper ones."

There are also fears that the new levies would be impossible to collect - and would simply line the pockets of retailers.

• The Irish government says that the introduction of its own 10p tax five years ago has been an "outstanding success".

In 2002, shopkeepers in the Republic handed out 1.2 billion plastic bags - the equivalent of 328 for every person in the country. Last year, they gave out 21 bags per person - a fall of 90 per cent.

The tax is also credited with reducing litter. Before the levy was introduced, plastic bags made up five per cent of all litter on the streets of Dublin and other major cities. Last year, it accounted for 0.2 per cent.

Earlier this month, the government raised the levy to 15p. Now, with no free supermarket plastic bags to use in the home, the Irish are reported to be buying more plastic bin liners.

No other country in Europe has introduced a similar scheme. However, many supermarkets have introduced voluntary bans. The Carrefour chain in France, for instance, asks customers to buy reusable bags or bring their own.

Marks & Spencer is charging shoppers 5p for a plastic bag at its Northern Ireland stores and is expected to extend the scheme to the rest of the UK.

Tesco says it has given out 600million fewer plastic bags since it started to give "green points" to store card holders who re-used bags. It also gives out biodegradable bags.