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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
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| Scottish government plans charge for plastic bags | Scottish government plans charge for plastic bags |
| (35 minutes later) | |
| The Scottish government has confirmed it will introduce a 5p levy on plastic bags from October 2014. | |
| Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said the charge should reduce bag use in Scotland and raise £5m for good causes each year. | Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said the charge should reduce bag use in Scotland and raise £5m for good causes each year. |
| There are already charges on carrier bags in Wales and the Republic of Ireland. | There are already charges on carrier bags in Wales and the Republic of Ireland. |
| The business organisation CBI Scotland said the move will mean "costly additional red tape". | |
| Mr Lochhead said: "Discarded carrier bags highlight our throwaway society. We use more carrier bags per head in Scotland than any other part of the UK and this is unsustainable. | |
| "Carrier bags are a highly visible aspect of litter and we are taking decisive action to decrease their number. By reducing the amount being carelessly discarded we can cut litter and its impact on our environment and economy. | |
| "A small charge should also encourage us all to stop and think about what we discard and what can be re-used." | |
| Good causes | |
| The measure will not raise revenue for the government. Instead, the money raised will go to good causes. | |
| Mr Lochhead added: "This charge is not a tax but will see retailers donating the proceeds to charity - this could be up to £5m per year after retailers have covered their costs." | |
| Iain Gulland, the director of Zero Waste Scotland, said: "We can all reduce the impact of carrier bags by making sure that when we must take one, we re-use it over and over again as many times as possible and then recycle it at the end of its life." | |
| Retailers have expresses their concern about the impact of the charge. | |
| A CBI Scotland spokesman said: "Modest economic growth coupled with a continuing shift to internet shopping is making conditions challenging for the high street, which is already feeling the ill-effects of the Scottish government's £95m retail rates surcharge and its £36m rates levy on empty shops and other premises. | |
| "The plans for costly additional red tape in the form of an environmental levy on carrier bags, after significant success recently in reducing the use of plastic bags by voluntary means, will only make a difficult situation even tougher for retail businesses." |