Vegware’s guide to the 5p bag charge

England’s single use carrier bags charge came in to action yesterday, so we thought it would be useful to explain how it relates to sales of our products.

The law is mainly aimed at reducing the use of single use plastic carrier bags. All Vegware packaging is made from plants, not plastic, but compostable bags such as our bioplastic carrier are still subject to the charge. However, these can be taken home and reused as a liner for food waste caddies, so represent good value for the 5p spent!

Paper bags are not subject to the charge in England, so our recycled carrier bags are a great option. They’re made from recycled materials already, and can be easily recycled again after use.

Overall, we think the new legislation is great news! In Wales, Scotland and Northern Ireland usage has dropped by up to 80%! Considering that in 2013 major supermarkets gave out 7.4 billion plastic bags, that’s a huge amount of plastic that might not end up as litter and make its way to the oceans.