New report on plastic carrier bags

09-Jul-12

Plastic carrier bags are seen by some as a symbol of a throw-away culture. Their impact on the environment is minor but they get a disproportionate amount of attention. The retail sector has supported efforts to reduce carrier bag use but is also working hard on a wide range of far more significant environmental projects which will make a much bigger difference to the environment. An obsession with plastic bags is a distraction. Retailers' environmental credentials are summarised in British Retail Consortium’s new report. Thin plastic carrier bags account for less than 1% of household waste and are a small proportion of litter. Today's plastic bags use 70% less plastic than 20 years ago and contain more recycled content than ever before. There's been a 61% reduction in the amount of new material used in all carrier bags since 2006. An Environment Agency study, "Life Cycle Assessment of Supermarket Carrier Bags" found thin plastic bags have the lowest carbon footprint of any type of bag. A cotton shopping bag has to be used at least 131 times to have less environmental impact. Plastic is by far the lightest of all carrier bag materials so it takes much less fuel to transport, producing fewer emissions. The BRC has co-ordinated retailers' efforts to reduce carrier bag use in association with the Government's waste reduction body. Steps taken by retailers include removing bags from check-out areas, encouraging staff to ask whether customers need a bag, offering loyalty-card points for re-use and ‘bags for life' which are replaced when they wear out as well as plastic bag recycling points. 37% fewer carrier bags of all types were used by supermarket customers in 2010 compared with 2006. This was achieved at a time when sales volumes in the same stores increased by 8%. During 2010 people used an average of 8.6 single-use bags each per month, compared with 14.7 in 2006. The BRC opposes the use of bag taxes which force an additional cost onto consumers and often have unintended consequences. Evidence from members of the Carrier Bag Consortium, who make and supply bin liners and refuse sacks, shows a plastic bag tax introduced in Ireland resulted in an increase of 300 to 500% in the sale of plastic refuse bags and bin liners. They contain much more plastic than carrier bags.