On 7 January 2019, the government started a consultation on doubling the 5p charge for single-use plastic carrier bags to 10p, and requiring the charge to be made by all retailers.
At present, in England, the charge is only compulsory for retailers with 250 or more employees. Removing this exemption would bring another 253,000 retailers into the scheme.
The charge is not a tax as it is kept by the retailer, though the main supermarkets have donated proceeds to charity. An estimated £51 million has been collected since the charge was introduced in 2015. Tesco alone has collected £13 million.
It is believed that the charge has removed 15 billion bags from circulation. [19.01]