The Northern Ireland Independent Retail Trade Association (NIIRTA) has welcomed the 72% decrease in single use carrier bags in the first year of the DOE Levy and called for the Minister not to proceed with stage 2 which adds 5p to reusable bags.
NIIRTA Chief Executive Glyn Roberts said: “We welcome the decrease of 72% in single use carriers bags over the past year. Our members have worked hard to administer and collect for this scheme and we are pleased to see progress”
“However, we believe a number of changes are needed. We believe that the DOE should not proceed with Stage 2 of the levy which includes a levy on renewable bags as such an extension will undermine the environmental objectives of the levy. “We are also concerned about reports from our members that basket sales and impulse buying have been reduced following the introduction of the levy. “Since our members have worked hard to administer and collect this levy and given that retailers in other parts of the UK have a big say in how it is spent, we would call upon Minister Durkan to do more to consult local retailers. “Ideally we would prefer that the proceeds of the levy are used to fund sustainable town centre regeneration projects,” added Mr Roberts.
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