UK Plastic bag charge set to be doubled to 10p

Externalities and government intervention in action. The UK government DEFRA is consulting on plans to increase the price of smaller plastic bags to 10 pence in a bid to tackle plastic pollution and cut the use of single-use carriers. 5p bag sales already have the potential to raise revenue to support good causes and there has been a sizeable cut in the usage of plastic bags. There seems to be broad public support for extending these charges to plastic bottles and cans. The European Union has just announced a ban on single use plastic such as disposable plates and straws.