Why a plastic bag fee is not a bad plan

Marie Reynolds

25 July 2013

Do plastic bags get on your nerves? They do mine.

I hate seeing them stuck in trees and blowing across parks in the wind. I bet zillions have been left on Brighton beach during the heatwave. And whilst they make excellent bin liners in my shared flat, they end up taking over our kitchen cupboards. 

UK supermarkets handed out more than 8 million bags last year, the highest amount in 4 years. I'm sure I accepted one or two of those.

But there's some good news. Figures out this week also show there's been an 81% drop in the use of plastic bags in Wales since the Welsh Assembly introduced a charging scheme one year ago. We've finally found something that works.

Ireland and Northern Ireland have already brought in a fee, and Scotland plans to introduce one from next year. But England has yet to do anything. True, Marks and Spencer already charges 5p a bag, but that's a voluntary scheme and there's nothing to make other supermarkets follow suit.  

So why is England dragging its feet? Apparently a row has broken out in Government with the Liberal Democrats accusing the Tory Treasury of standing in the way. Yes, the same old Treasury that last year blocked a Government review into the impact of over-consumption on our economy - something Friends of the Earth exposed in the (£) Financial Times.

So much for David Cameron's election pledge to lead the "greenest government ever". This isn't even the greenest government in the UK.

It's a sad state of affairs if the Prime Minister is waiting to introduce the fee just before the next general election, allowing the Conservatives to claim credit for something that should have been done years ago. We all think that's what he's up to.

But the time for action is now. The Daily Mail's 'Banish The Bags' campaign, highlighting the devastating impact of plastic bags on the environment and wildlife, show's the public's got an appetite for it. The money raised should get spent on waste prevention and recycling.

If you'd like to add your voice to this debate, which isn't about to stop now, why not write to or phone your MP. Or if you're on Twitter you can find out his or her Twitter handle here.  

As for me, I'll keep trying to remember to take out my cloth bag at lunchtimes. It's hard work fitting my lunch into a tiny handbag!