A plastic bag firm has announced that they blame the new carrier bag law for their collapse.
The law was introduced last October to reduce non-recyclable litter, and requires large shops in England to charge 5p for carrier bags.
Nelson Packaging which manufactures plastic bags, said they have entered administration, making 40 workers redundant at their factory in Lancashire.
Managing Director Michael Flynn said their collapse was mainly due to “the English bag legislation and corresponding impact on customer and retailer demand.”
Union representative Robert Copeland, who had been with the firm since 1986, said staff were told last Wednesday and that they were told to leave the factory immediately.
He finds it scary to suddenly have to go into a new working environment and start again at the age of 49.
The aim of the law was to reduce the environmental impact of the 7.64bn carrier bags used in 2014 – at an average of about 140 per person.
Wales was the first UK nation to introduce the bag charges, followed by Northern Ireland and then Scotland.
Since the law was enforced supermarket chains has reported a big drop in the use of bags in favour of multi-use alternatives.
Hayley Williams, a sales assistant at Morrisons in Lincoln agrees and said: “A lot more people are bringing their own bags in, because they don’t want to pay the charge, it is definitely noticeable.”
