Deadline for charging for plastic bags to be revealed

ENVIRONMENT Minister Jane Davidson will announce the date she hopes to impose charges on plastic bags today.

She will use a Senedd statement to update AMs on plans to make shoppers pay for single-use carrier bags at the till.

Ms Davidson signalled her intention to press ahead with introducing a compulsory fee when a report backed the idea last month.

A study commissioned by the Assembly Government supported the idea of cutting the use of plastic bags beyond a level agreed by retailers.

Consultants said a bag tax in Ireland offered a "particularly attractive model" for Wales, having cut single-use bags by 90 per cent and reduced litter.

Some 480 million bags were issued in Wales with the intention of being used only once last year.

An agreement between big retailers and the Government is expected to cut this to about 320 million in future.

Ms Davidson is considering charging between 5p and 15p as a way of encouraging shoppers to re-use bags instead of throwing them away.

After last month's report, she said: "In simple terms, the evidence shows introducing a charge works. Just look at what some retailers in the UK are already doing."

But the British Retail Consortium has warned against the move, saying shops have already made progress without the need for legislation.

The watchdog Consumer Focus Wales said shoppers will need to see where the money raised by a statutory charge is being spent.