What are the issues with plastic carrier bags?
Plastic bags are convenient, being on the whole, waterproof,
strong, versatile, light-weight, cheap, and a much used marketing
tool. They are a part of the plastics industry which provides jobs.
However they are also:
- A visual component of litter which looks bad and can harm
wildlife.
- A symbol of a throwaway society.
- Not economically recyclable, meaning, unless they are
reclaimed, they have to be land filled.
What is the Government doing?
Britain’s biggest supermarkets were given an ultimatum by the
Prime Minister on 29 September 2011, warning that unless stores
deliver ‘significant falls’ over the next 12 months, they could
either be banned outright from giving out single-use bags or be
legally required to charge:
What is the Council doing?
Suffolk Coastal advocates the use of reusable bags rather than
single-use plastic ones and would like to encourage employees,
organisations and residents to do the same. We have written to the
Prime Minister asking for appropriate action:
What are retailers doing?
Levels of action seem to vary from not stocking (the most
effective) to no action, the range of action is shown below:
- Not stocking or giving out plastic carrier bags - for example
Somersham’s Tesco Express (new window).
- Charging for bags - for example the East of England Cooperative
Society.
- Making bags thinner - could be counterproductive as people get
two to avoid breakages.
- Providing degradable bags - they still contain petroleum-based
plastic with a mineral additive and still can create a litter or a
landfill problem.
- Providing compostable bags - these only effectively compost in
industrial composters not in a home environment. If you put
compostable or biodegradable material into landfill it will be
digested anaerobically producing methane and with no standardised
labelling scheme to distinguish these bags consumers could become
confused.
- Hiding bags.
- No action being taken.
What can you do to reduce their use as an individual?
Take a few moments each day to think about what you need, where
to get it from and then what to carry it in. To help you some of
the pros and cons of different types of carrier are listed
below:
Studies show that for all containers, the main environmental
impacts come from the extraction and production of the materials
that are then used to make bags and from their disposal if they
become litter.
Overall the best option seems to be the use of bags or boxes
that have other every day uses such as rucksacks, trolley bags or
fruit boxes, especially if these containers are then recycled once
they are past useful life.
If you are able to grow, sew and make your own food and goodies
then that cuts down on the need to carry items. It also cuts down
on the waste going into your bin.
What can you encourage your community to do?
- Tell everyone about why you want to reduce the use of plastic
bags.
- Survey the whole community to find out if they would support a
plastic bag free campaign (get businesses involved to hand out
surveys).
- Hold a meeting inviting everyone.
- Set a launch date and promote well in advance - maybe combine
with a mass litter pick so people can see the issues
themselves.
- Get some funding to buy reusable bags and get kids to design
them.
- Share each success.
The
Marine Conservation Society (new window) has
produced an information pack to help your community go plastic
bag free.
Useful links