New Scottish Government regulations mean Renfrewshire shoppers will have to pay at least 5p for carrier bags from October.
The Single Use Carrier Bags Charge (Scotland) Regulations have been introduced in a bid to cut climate change and reduce the number of carrier bags used by Scottish shoppers.
Last year alone shoppers carted off 740 million carrier bags.
38 Renfrew residents joined Renfrewshire’s Provost Anne Hall in an historic trip down the Clyde to preserve the town’s fishing rights on the river.
The guests were invited to watch as Renfrewshire’s civic leaders carried out the historic act of casting the nets to retain the rights of salmon fishing on the Clyde.
The custom goes back as far as 1781 when the town lost the right to the fishing on parts of the Clyde by not fishing in the area.
King Robert III had granted a charter to the community of Renfrew granting the right to fish the River Clyde as far back as 1396.
However Renfrew Town Council failed to keep the rights on parts of the river owned by Sir Michael Stewart because they hadn’t fished those areas for some years. From then on it became practise to maintain the rights by having the Provost, Baillies and Town Clerk put out the nets and haul them in every three years. The practise of casting of the nets is still carried on as a tradition.
Provost Hall was also joined by local councillors, MPs and MSPs for the trip from Braehead pier to the mouth of the River Leven.
Provost Hall said: “I was pleased that so many from the local community joined me on this unique celebration of Renfrew’s history. The historic salmon fishing is a significant tradition and one that’s worth preserving. It’s great that everyone had such a great day.”
The fishing net for the special trip was kindly donated by Gordon from Country Sports, Paisley.
re-usable carrier bags are exempt from the charge.
Councillor Eddie Devine, Convener of Renfrewshire Council’s Environment Policy Board said, “The best thing we can all do for the environment is reduce the number of bags we use; re-use bags as often as possible and recycle any bags that we don’t need any more.”
Renfrewshire Council’s Trading Standards Team is warning suppliers about their duties under the new regulations.
Councillor Eddie Devine said, “Any shop with more than 10 full time staff, or equivalent, has to keep financial records of how much they make from this charge for at least three financial years.
“The Scottish Government is encouraging businesses to donate the proceeds to good causes, which benefit local communities or the environment, to generate publicity for their business.”
Retailers who fail to impose the carrier bag charge could face a range of sanctions including a £200 fixed penalty charge.