She says: Why do people always ask if you want a carrier bag at the check out? It's not like I can juggle my shopping all the way home.
You say: I guess they're trying to cut back on the number of people using plastic bags.
She says: Tell me about it. I've got a drawer full at home. I don't know what to do with them.
You say: Do you re-use them? It doesn't take much to pop a couple in your bag before you leave the house, and they don't take up much room.
She says: So if we all stopped using plastic bags we wouldn't have to worry about all this recycling business?
You say: Not at all - they are just the tip of the iceberg. We need to be recycling everything we can, but also avoiding all this pointless disposable stuff. Anything that's disposable can't be good for the environment; we're just using up our resources and turning them into rubbish.
She says: I also heard that the Government was thinking about taxing people for using plastic bags. Isn't that just an easy way to make money? Seems a bit cheeky to me.
You say: That's one way to look at it, but I really think it's a way of encouraging people to change the way they behave. Government should do more to stop the mountains of rubbish we produce from growing, like getting rid of incinerators and making sure that companies can only produce materials that are easy for us to recycle.
She says: That all sounds like a bit much to me. Where are we supposed to start?
You say: Easy, get yourself a re-usable cloth bag. Forget the rest and get the best, a genuine organic cotton one from the Friends of the Earth Shop
Discuss "Plastic - not so fantastic?" in our forum
Image © www.istockphoto.com
Contact us | Support us | Copyright © Friends of the Earth Trust/Limited
