Executive
Consultation on a proposed shopping
Item no:
bag levy for London
Job title:
6
Principal Environment Policy
Officer
Report by:
Jared Boow
Date:
11 September 2007
Contact Officer:
Jared Boow
Telephone:
020 7934 9951
Summary:
This report informs Leaders of the proposed London Councils shopping bag
levy consultation, under the proposals for the 10th London Local Authorities
Bill, and recommends to Leaders that they approve the intent to consult on
this issue, and accept that the technical details of the consultation proposals
be approved by the Transport & Environment Committee on 13 September
2007.
Recommendations:
Leaders are asked to:
Email:
jared.boow@@londoncouncils.gov.uk
1. Agree that London Councils consult on proposals for a proposed
shopping bag levy to be taken forward as part of a raft of measures in
the 10th Local Authorities Bill.
2. Agree that the London Councils Transport & Environment Committee
approve the details of the shopping bag consultation at their 13
September 2007 meeting.
Consultation on a proposed shopping bag levy for London
1. BACKGROUND.
1.1
The Executive agreed in November 2006 that officers would consult with boroughs on new
powers to be contained in a 10th London Local Authorities Bill.
It was agreed that London
th
Councils would only proceed with a 10 LLAB in 2007 if a strong list of proposed new powers
was identified.
1.2
Having considered a draft list of proposals in April 2007 the Executive then agreed to consult
external stakeholders on the proposals that had been collated. Draft proposals were shared with
the Government Office for London, all London borough solicitors, the City of London, Transport
for London on the transport proposals, and Parliamentary Agents.
1.3
The draft 10th Bill proposals were presented to London Councils’ Leaders Committee on 7 July
2007. Of these proposals, a shopping bag levy or ban was one of those that Leaders agreed to
take forward in the proposed Bill.
1.4
Due to the public interest and possible impacts surrounding this issue, it is considered
appropriate that London Councils get feedback from the community and businesses prior to
formalising its position. There are many issues surrounding a proposed ban or levy, such as the
environmental arguments for and against such proposals; the subsequent impact on businesses
and consumers from introducing a ban / levy; and the technical issues regarding how such a
proposal would be implemented in practice.
Some background information on issues
surrounding shopping bags are outlined in Appendix 1.
2. SHOPPING BAG CONSULTATION.
2.1
It is therefore proposed that London Councils undertake a consultation exercise on this matter to
enable more informed proposals to be taken forward into a Bill (or even as to whether the
proposal is altogether viable).
2.2
Due to the timeframes available to London Councils to present the next Bill in Parliament, the
deadline for laying a Bill is 27 November 2007. To enable it to be as close to what London
Councils and boroughs would like to see taken forward, and for the proposals (whatever they
might be) to have some backing, it is therefore essential that we receive feedback to inform our
proposals before this date.
2.3
It is therefore proposed that an eight week consultation from 13 September 2007 (the date of the
next Transport & Environment Committee) be undertaken, to inform the policy background on the
issue and to enable a more informed clause to be drafted for the Bill.
3. LEADERS COMMITTEE AND TRANSPORT & ENVIRONMENT COMMITTEE ROLES.
3.1
It is proposed that Leaders Committee agree to the principle and timing of the consultation, and
agree that the Transport & Environment Committee approve the details of the draft consultation
document, at their next meeting of 13 September 2007.
4. FINANCIAL IMPLICATIONS.
4.1
There are no financial implications for London Councils from this report.
However, carrying
forward some of the options proposed (such as levy collection or policing a ban on free shopping
bags), will have resource implications for London boroughs.
5. EQUALITIES IMPACT.
5.1
There are no equalities issues resulting from this report.
However, an Equalities Impact
Assessment will be undertaken to accompany the report to the Transport & Environment
Committee on the detail of the consultation.
APPENDIX 1: BACKGROUND TO PROPOSED SHOPPING BAG LEVY.
Reasons for a shopping bag levy for London.
1. The objective of introducing a ban or levy into the 10th London Local Authorities Bill is to reduce the
environmental impact of ‘throw out’ shopping (‘TOS’) bags and stretch the current national targets1 in
London. Whether a ban or levy is targeted at just plastic bags or a full range of TOS bags is also a
question posed by this consultation.
2. An estimated 13 billion TOS bags are given out by UK retailers annually which equates to
approximately 220 bags per person per year2. For London, a conservative figure based on
population size would indicate Londoners use at least 1.6 billion bags per year. This is likely to be
much higher however, due to the disproportionately large number of tourists that visit London. In
addition, the lack of control over the distribution of these bags means far more are used (often one
per item per shop) than is necessary.
Environmental impacts of different shopping bags.
3. Of the TOS bags given away by retailers, plastic bags in particular are often perceived to cause the
worst environmental problems, since whilst they only make up a small percentage of the total litter
dropped, they have a nuisance effect on the public realm that is more ‘visible’ than their contribution
to the total litter volume would suggest. They also have a disproportionate impact on river and
marine wildlife compared with other types of litter.
4. Paper bags and alternatives however can also be damaging to the environment. Paper bags can be
up to six times heavier / bulkier and therefore use more fossil fuels for their distribution. The
increased demand for paper pulp if plastic bags were banned is also of concern if it is not sourced
from sustainably harvested forests. Paper can however be more easily recycled in London, with
most residential collections accepting most forms of paper and card (no such residential recycling
exists for plastic bags- supermarkets are one of the few places they can be taken to be recycled).
Biopolymer-based ‘biodegradable’ bags can also pose problems, as they are generally also be
landfilled like plastic bags. The methane and other emissions given off by the anaerobic
decomposition of ‘biodegradable’ bags in landfills have implications for climate change (methane as
a gas is approximately twenty times more potent than CO2 in terms of its greenhouse heat trapping
effect). Biodegradable bags also cause significant problems in terms of ‘contaminating’ plastic bag
recycling collections.
5. Finally, there is also a wider concern regarding use of all types of disposable bags in terms of the
attitudes and behaviours of the public. A single use ‘throw away mentality’ is at odds with
sustainability goals, the realities of London’s landfill constraints, and the order of the Government’s
waste hierarchy, which prioritises waste management as follows:
reduce  reuse  recycle/compost  recover energy  landfill).
6. The majority of plastic bags for example, go straight to the last step in this hierarchy. Whilst research
by Somerfield suggested that 68% of Londoners claimed to ‘recycle’ their plastic bags, this is more
likely to actually be a single ‘re-use’ only prior to it going to landfill (e.g., use as a home bin liner).
1
On 28 February 2007 a voluntary agreement was announced with UK retailers to reduce the overall environmental impact of carrier bags by
25% by the end of 2008. Available at: http://www.defra.gov.uk/environment/localenv/litter/plasticbags/index.htm.
2
Defra press release 28 Feb 2007, “UK retailers sign up to cut the environmental impact of carrier bags”. Available at:
http://www.defra.gov.uk/news/2007/070228a.htm
Options available for a levy or ban.
7. There are several options available for pursuing a TOS bag levy in London.
consultation document proposes six possible options, which are outlined below:
OPTION 1:
OPTION 2:
OPTION 3:
OPTION 4:
OPTION 5:
OPTION 6:
The proposed
Status quo- ‘do nothing’- This option retains the current system, which includes a
voluntary UK-wide agreement between DEFRA and retailers to reduce the overall
environmental impact of carrier bags by 25% by end of 2008.
Outright ban- This option involves banning the handing out of SUS bags by retailers in
the Greater London area.
Council-collected ‘tax-like’ levy- This option involves local authorities collecting a ‘levy’
from retailers arising from the sale of SUS bags (similar to proposals in the Scottish Bill).
Retailer-collected levy with environment fund- This option involves retailers collecting
a ‘levy’ from the sale of SUS bags and require them to put some of the money from this
into an environmental fund of some description.
Plastic bags only- Any of the above (ii)-(iv) options, but including only plastic bags.
Major retailers only- Any of the above (ii)-(v) options, but focusing only on the major
retailers (an annual turnover criteria or similar could be used to define this).