Mandatory charges or levies on single-use carrier bags
#00090
Require retailers to charge a small mandatory fee per single-use carrier bag at checkout. Even a small charge cuts bag use and bag litter by around 80%, nudging shoppers toward reusables — a low-cost policy with fast, measurable results.
Parent issue
#00078 Single-use packaging and carrier bags escape into the environment
Sustainable Development Goals
Location
Description
Mechanism
Retailers must charge a small mandatory fee for each single-use carrier bag at checkout. The trivial-sounding charge makes the throwaway bag a deliberate, slightly costly choice, so demand drops sharply and reusable bags become the default — removing most bags from the litter stream at source.
Where it fits
A targeted upstream instrument for one of the most iconic litter items, within the single-use-packaging facet. Easy to legislate and enforce at the retailer level.
Operating profile and limits
Where applied, bag use and bag litter typically fall by around 80%, quickly. It is item-specific, so it must be extended to other single-use items to keep reducing overall litter; displaced demand can shift to other bag types if the scope is narrow. Strongest as the first move in a sequence of single-use measures.
Sub-issues
0Case studies
2