Two weeks until thin plastic bags become a thing of the past

Thursday 07 July 2022

Single-use plastic and paper bags will disappear from shops in Jersey two weeks today.

From Thursday 21 July, thicker reusable ‘bags for life’, made of both plastic and paper, will only be available at a charge of 70p or more.

Failure to comply could lead to a fine of £1,000.

There are exceptions to the new law, including goods bought at the Airport and Harbour, gift bags, compost bags, bags for prescriptions, bin liners and nappy sacks, and bags used to wrap uncooked meat and fish.  

Businesses with existing stocks of non-compliant bags have until next January to use them up.

The change comes about after the States Assembly voted to ban single-use plastic bags in June 2020, when Members overwhelmingly backed a proposition from Deputy Inna Gardiner to ban the supply and distribution of specific types of single-use plastic and paper bags by all retailers, as well as the setting of a minimum price for bag for life.

Pictured: A Government video explaining what the new law means for retailers and their customers.

Deputy Gardiner, who was re-elected last month, lodged her proposal after attending a Commonwealth Parliamentary Association workshop, where she had discovered that lots of other small jurisdictions had already banned these bags.

After the in-principle backing of the States two years ago, politicians approved the regulations underpinning the law last year.

They then agreed to a request from Infrastructure Minister Kevin Lewis for a sixth-month delay, on top of a six-month introductory period already included in the law, in order to give retailers and wholesalers more time to prepare.

Bags made from other materials such as cotton, canvas and jute are outside of the law, as are plastic containers, such as the ones used by takeaways.

Deputy Gardiner said: "It's difficult to believe, but I lodged my first proposition on the 12 February 2020.

"It’s good for everybody to be involved in protecting our environment from plastic pollution. I hope this makes everyone think twice about single use plastics and, in a way, shares out the responsibility to us all.

"We all need to be aware of unnecessary consumption and waste to protect our planet."

For more information on the ban, the Government has published this information.

READ MORE...

FOCUS: Jersey prepares to go plastic-bag free