Plastic bag charge update…

It’s almost a year  since we reported that large retailers would be required by law to charge for single-use plastic carrier bag.

Put in place by the government on the 5 October 2015 to stem the amount of plastic damaging our environment the new ruling has so far proved to be a big success.

In the initial six months since the charge was introduced the government reports:

* 1.1 billion single-use carrier bags were sold by large retailers who registered. By comparison 2014 saw the same shops use 7.64 billion bags over a full year, according to waste reduction charity, Wrap – a massive drop.

* Net proceeds from the bag charge reached £41.3 million.

* At least £29.2 million was donated to good causes concerned with the environment, education, health, arts and charities.

Says Environment Minister, Therese Coffey, ‘It will mean our precious marine life is safer, our communities are cleaner and future generations won’t be saddled with mountains of plastic taking hundreds of years to break down in landfill sites.’

Millions of us are using Bags for Life and re-using them. And there are plenty of alternatives such as environmentally-friendly jute or cotton bags – just perfect for customisation!

Arcadia have a great selection of promotional bags for life to offer and are always on the lookout for products and packaging to help reduce society’s environmental footprint.

Make Memorable Merchandise

[mailmunch-form id=”172197″]

Jason Markwick

Having worked in Promotional Merchandise for the last 25 years I have been exposed to all aspects of the industry. Starting out as an account manager working with some of the worlds leading brands, I have learnt to understand the needs of a client, manufacturing processes, and what it takes to deliver a successful promotional campaign that is on brand, on time and within a given budget.