Growing concern for local businesses following the tax on carriers
Although praise has befallen Wales’ initiative to introduce a compulsory charge of five pence for a single-use carrier bag, small businesses are concerned about the knock-on effects that it has had on local trade.
This new legislation is undoubtedly an environmental step forward for Wales, yet some businesses have experienced adverse effects as a direct consequence of it. Indeed, the accompanying vox-populi suggests that some Cardiff residents have scaled-down the size of shopping trips in a bid to save on costly carrier bags.
Lyndon Jewkes is the owner of Central Paper, a Cardiff-based company that supplies shops with polythene bags. He said, “My profit has fallen 40% since the tax on carriers began, with little advice from the Welsh Assembly on how to adapt to consumers’ new shopping habits”.