Written question asked by Lord Lester of Herne Hill (Liberal Democrat), in the House of Lords. It was answered by Lord Rooker (Labour) on Thursday, 2 November 2006.

Plastic Bags

Question: What steps they are taking to reduce the use of plastic bags by customers.

Answer: Defra provided funding for the Waste and Resources Action Programme (WRAP) to carry out a pilot reusable bag campaign with retailers last autumn, aimed at reducing the consumption of plastic carrier bags by promoting the message of reuse to the public. Following on from this, on 12 October, my honourable friend, the Minister for Local Environment, Marine and Animal Welfare, and Mr Ross Finnie, Minister for Environment and Rural Development at the Scottish Executive, met UK retailers and representatives from the devolved Administrations, to discuss a draft voluntary code of practice aimed at reducing the number of paper and plastic carrier bags distributed to consumers. The Government and retailers have committed to work together to encourage the reuse and recycling of bags and agree targets for their reduction. It is hoped that as many retailers as possible will sign up to the code, and this will result in a significant change in consumer behaviour.

Secondary information