Carrier bag charge blamed for packaging firm’s demise

THE imposition of a 5p charge for plastic bags has been blamed for a Lancashire packaging firm going into administration with 40 job losses.

Nelson Packaging, which has been operating in the Lancashire town for more than 30 years, made re-usable,  recycled polyethylene bags for the likes of Asda, Pets at Home and The Co-op.

Managing director Michael Flynn told trade title Packaging News that the company’s demise was mainly due to “the English bag legislation and corresponding impact on customer and retailer demand”.

He also blamed “aggressive overseas competition”.

He added: “We had thought we were ready for the bag tax but it has been far, far more challenging than we expected. We wanted to bring the manufacturing back to Britain and we wanted to generate support of British retailers to jump on board with that.

“While the Co-op, Asda and Pets at Home did that, for many others it is still all about price, and I’m afraid we just couldn’t compete with overseas imports.

The 5p charge for bags was introduced in England in October and followed the introduction of charges in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.

One worker told BBC Radio Lancashire they believed the legislation had a “slight but not a massive impact” on the business which was based on Townsley Street,  and was taken over by Cheshire-based packaging firm Intelipac three years ago.