Since 2011, measures have been taken across the UK to tackle single-use plastic waste, including plastic bags, cutlery, straws and food and drink containers.
Scotland, England and Wales have imposed bans on certain products, while Northern Ireland has a plan for future restrictions. These restrictions were introduced at different times but are substantially similar.
It is clear that these measures have been effective.
According to a July 29 report in the British newspaper The Guardian, the number of plastic bags thrown on beaches has decreased by 80 percent since 2015, when the United Kingdom imposed a mandatory fee on single-use plastic bags. For example, in 2021, the charge for single-use plastic bags was increased from 5 pence to 10 pence in England and Scotland, and 25 pence in Northern Ireland. While the minimum charge in Wales remains at 5p, Wales has said it will ban plastic bags altogether by 2026.
Now, the UK has re-launched research into regulatory restrictions on single-use plastics.
The Office for the Internal Market (OIM), a division of the UK Competition and Markets Authority (CMA), has a remit to support the effective functioning of the UK's internal market through the provision of expert advice and analysis to help the four UK governments. As such, it is ideally placed to provide independent and evidence-based advice on the economic impact of measures to reduce single-use plastics in each country, which can help the government to shape future policy.
The review builds on the OIM's latest annual report, which found that supermarkets tend to adopt a 'whole of UK' approach to the use of single-use plastic items such as cutlery, plates and bowls, meaning that they adapt to the regulatory environment by using items that comply with the rules of trade in all regions of the UK, or at least in all the regions in which they trade, rather than using different products in each region. This means that they adapt to the regulatory environment by using items that comply with the trading rules in all regions of the UK, or at least all the regions in which they trade, rather than using different products in each region.
OIM is now keen to hear from a wide range of stakeholders, including small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and other stakeholders in the supply chain, about their experiences in responding to regulatory changes related to single-use plastics.OIM is particularly interested in learning how businesses have responded to these changes and to what extent the timing or substantive differences in regulation have affected policy development and innovation in the U.K. OIM is also interested in learning how businesses have responded to the regulatory changes in the U.K., including how they have responded to the regulatory changes.
Murdoch McLennan, chairman of the OIM panel, said.
We know that reducing the consumption of single-use plastics - from the shopping bags used in the weekly store to the straws in drinks - is important for the environment. We also know that the UK's internal market for goods and services is worth £190 billion a year and that green issues are top of mind for consumers, so it's in everyone's interest to understand how national restrictions on single-use plastics are working.
To help us build this picture, we are inviting feedback from interested stakeholders, including businesses that have experienced changes to regulations around single-use plastics. This will help us understand how companies of all sizes can effectively sell their products and services across the four countries of the UK.
