Background and Policy Objectives
3.The Act will introduce modifications to section 77(4) of, and Schedule 6 to, the Climate Change Act 2008. These will allow regulations (which may be made by the Department of the Environment) to require that charges collected by retail outlets for single use carrier bags should be paid to the Department. The charges for single use carrier bags, when introduced, are expected to encourage people not to use such bags, thereby reducing the amount of damage they cause to the environment. For example, the number of plastic bags in circulation in Northern Ireland is estimated to range between 338 million to 390 million.