Marks and Spencer is to charge food customers five pence for plastic carrier bags, starting in May, in an effort to help reduce the damage they do to the environment.
The company found in a Northern Ireland trial that charging for carriers cuts their use by around 70 percent. If that holds good across the country it would amount to something like 280 million bags saved.
Standard plastic bags can take 100 years to decompose in landfill sites and in the UK more than 13 billion of them are given to shoppers every year — working out at roughly 220 bags a year for each one of us.
Many supermarkets are introducing bags with recycled elements and the move by M&S is to be applauded, but in the wider context of the excess packaging debate, is it enough?
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26 comments so far
Having done my degree in South Africa, where they already charge for plastic bags, for quite some time now, it will not be a massive culture shock. In fact it’s nice to see the developed (first) world, catching up with the developing (third) world! (I can only hope that we will one day get a constitution as progressive as South Africa too!) There is no reason not to use a reuseable bag in fabric, rather than a plastic bag. If we want to evolve and continue to think of ourselves as the most intelligent animal on the planet, then we have to save that planet too, this is a good start.
- Posted by Sophia AlexanderWell done M&S. Just looking at our hedgerows shows how many plastic bags are thoughtlessly disgarded. The Republic of Ireland has seen a massive improvement in the amount of litter and therefore the tidiness of its roads since introducing a 5p per bag tax on all plastic bags. Reusing bags is a simple step we can all take in contributing to improving our environment. It may be a small step but at least it’s a step in the right direction.
- Posted by Dee O'BrienIts a great idea and as it said in the article, the trial has worked well here in Northern Ireland. Bags plastic or paper in the Republic of Ireland have had a charge for a number of years, waste has reduced dramatically.
Next, is to reduce packaging on goods.
- Posted by Alan Kerr (Co Antrim)Why dont all of these companies just use bio-degradeable bags ? they dissolve in the ground in just over a year, back to natural components. What a potty world we live in. The government could legislate to make this happen, sorry that would be too sensible wouldn’t it.
- Posted by MickSuch an amazing idea…
- Posted by Laura Stavrohopefully the rest of the retail industry will follow in M&S’s footsteps
NOT REALLY A PRACTICAL SOLUTION. IT MEANS MOST PEOPLE HAVING TO BUY PLASTIC BAGS FOR REFUSE COLLECTION. PERHAPS THAT ONLY APPLIES TO MY COUNCIL?
- Posted by D.MARKS40% of household waste is food. If we don’t put it in plastic bags before putting it into kitchen bins then wheelie bins, what will we use?
- Posted by Greig MarkhamThis is like the fatuous argument about food packaging - it’s packaged because we don’t want our food contaminated, bruised and damaged before we get it.
Wake up! See the whole story before picking out a bit to campaign against.
I think it is a fantastic idea. I worked in South Africa for a while. and this was a culture already imbibed by them.I believe it is a direction all store should look at.
- Posted by LadiKudos to M&S for starting and promoting a great trend in the UK
I am still not able to understand why supermarkets in this country do not use paper bags - or perhaps bags made out of other recyclable material. More impressive is why is government not doing anything about the whole thing.
From my perspective the best way is to say ‘NO’ to excessive packaging - so if you have a shopping trolley, it is very easy to transport large items like 6packs, large boxes without any additional bags - and save some piece of the planet
- Posted by SamOK here is the deal. “Free” plastic bags were never actually free - retailers have to pay to get them made and distributed, do you think they don’t pass on those overheads to customers? Paying for the bags means you only pay for the bags you actually use - and you could always bring some with you.
- Posted by scallywagbagsRegarding rubbish bags - Firstly, why are we throwing food away? It is possible to reduce portion size which reduces the amount you need to throw away which cannot be composted. Secondly, what do you think we used BEFORE plastic bags? It is possible to use NO bags at all and rinse out the bins on a regular basis (with an eco friendly detergent!) This will save any extra perceived cost of “having” to buy bin bags.
Regarding “biodegradable” bags - they still use up resources and energy in their manufacture and distribution.
For a better (and more fun) solution to your bag dilemmas head on over to morsbags and make your own bags from old duvets, shirts or aunty freda’s antimaccassars.
Yes, it will change my shopping patterns.
- Posted by SimonI’ll go to Morrisons.
As part of a smallish 3 person household, my partner and I started about 6 months ago to reduce the amount of waste that went in our black bin (to landfill) we made a wormery out of an old dustbin that takes a lot of the kitchen waste, we bought a couple of compost bins and a can crusher. The result is that our black bin has hardly anything in it! We have a few re-usable shopping bags in the boot of the car. Also, stopped shopping at the supermarket. Use the local butcher, farm shop and a man who grows the best ever veg! Most areas have similar and it has helped the environment as well as our shopping bills and black bin.
- Posted by Irene MaguireAnother farcical debate.
The country is drowning in filth. If the government did just ONE useful thing it would be to ban plastic bags and put a refundable deposit on all cans and bottles. Robust paper carriers are perfectly adequate for their purpose but dissolve and turn into pulp if abandoned and exposed to the weather.
- Posted by Mike TPlease, please make this law. It’s just ridiculous the amount of bags even my small household can go through. And the number of weird looks I get in shops when I say I don’t need a bag is quite offputting.
It’s also the first time I’ve found myself agreeing with a Daily Mail campaign (help) - their pictures of various cute animals choking on plastic bags was excellent at bringing home the damage they can do.
- Posted by Chloe FSorry to be off message.
The issue is really the amount of waste overall not just the last bit of packaging.
We need to focus on non returnable / throw away goods of all kinds.
My wife already recycles plastic bag - they become bin liners!
Beware another “stealth tax” from an out of touch Gordon Brown and his thinkalikes!
- Posted by Alan SouthamptonOf course they should! They are totally unnecessary and harmful to our Earth. There’s no reason for us to use these - people are just lazy!
- Posted by Meredith WebbI live in America. When I was a teenager we had a choice of paper or plastic at the checkout line. We no longer have that choice, paper bags have been elimated. I approve of the idea of charging for plastic but only if we are also offered a choice of having a paper bag. (Which is recyclable).
- Posted by Shalimar WilliamsYes, plastic bags should be banned as soon as possible.
- Posted by AjitI live in America. It probably won’t matter. I don’t like the heavy canvas bags. I never know exactly how much I’ll be buying, so I have to lug around many of those ugly, heavy, bulky, randomly-sized, randomly-shaped things, and then wash them because they’ve been sitting where people put their feet and their filthy diapered diseased kids, and then remember to take them ALLLLLL with me every time I go shopping, and wash them again, and oh god forget it.
I already pay for the paper and plastic (we still have the choice at most stores here). If we have to pay more, it’ll just be something else that gets stolen frequently.
It’s much more sanitary, convenient and earth-friendly to just use plastic bags once and dispose of them, rather than have to wash an extra two loads of nasty ugly bags every time I shop. The colors bleed, so they have to be washed separately… what a massive waste of time, cleaners, gas, and electricity!
- Posted by JaneJane’s comments are quite interesting. I’m wondering where she shops. Grocery stores are not that dirty. There’s also plenty of packaging, unfortunately, between her purchases and the area where people have put their feet and baby bottoms. She could try to plan ahead and bring the amount of cloth bags she needs for her purchases. She could even choose the fabric herself and sew (UGH!!) her own bags so the colors won’t run! She’s right about one thing, we Americans do pay for the plastic bags. I think Jane needs to think more outside the plastic bag than herself!!!
- Posted by Dee Aspenwe really shouldn’t worry about how much waste we create, and instead concern ourselves with how we can economically launch our dicardings into the firey embrace of the sun
- Posted by McShabbyHaving been a prolific consumer of plastic bags for too many years, I am a recent convert to only using them when absolutely necessary. When I find one in a hedgerow I use it to fill with litter (see http://www.peopleclearinglitter.co.uk) which makes me feel as though I am doing something other than just moan about the situation! I would like to see the government make a charge on plastic bags a legal requirement, and also to introduce refundable deposits on canned and bottled drinks. This seems to work well in Scandinavian countries, but, there again, they are a lot more sensible and civilised than the UK. When I visited Sweden two years ago I was extremely impressed by the clenliness of the litter free streets, and very embarassed w2hen our Swedish friends paid us a return visit last year!
- Posted by gwynneth hauxwellI think that banning plasic bags is a stupid idea.
- Posted by JasmineInstead of banning them they should be finding ways to recycle them.
once again blunderer in chief the PM,and the super stores have got it wrong, another stealth tax
- Posted by geoffrey elderfieldmy plastic bags are used by the greengrocer and for putting my rubbish in
This will about the return of the dust bin
For goodness sake simply make the plastic bag biodegradable
plastic bags are bad! they should b banned. who ever invented plastic bags should get their head sorted out
- Posted by PhoebeJust like you… I too am concerned by the current environmental situation…enough so to leave an engineering position on the production side of things and jump fence to the recycling side. I intend to use my skillsets to make a difference…not my voice to create a panic.
I have been in the process of gaining data…for the purpose of building a recycling center in Michigan. One thing I know is this…I am not biased about who’s data I use…but your statement that plastics production accounts for 10% of the worlds oil consumption is blatantly incorrect…the numbers I’m seeing are in the 3-5% range…with improvements made over the last couple of years… and a trend towards making things right.
I will say that I agree with you fully..there is a very strong need to educate the public. But education is NOT defined as propaganda…it is a clear representation of both sides and ALL issues..so that educated decisions can be made based on the facts…not ropes hung in a medieval witch hunt.
I run a plastics website…and I have a section devoted to environmental concerns. This section exists for the sole purpose that I as a person who loves this planet have the same concerns regarding its misuse as you do.But the products I produce have been in your best interest…I’ve been breathing the fumes you fear for 23 years now…and I am as healthy as a horse.
Bags an issue…you betcha…marine aquatic issues…certainly…but that is why I’m here. Because I care, and want to make a difference. I am glad to help…I’m more than willing to listen. But remember…there are two sides. And they live and breathe the same air….
A section of my website is devoted to upgrade current recycling programs and implement research into end product research:
http://www.4plastics411.com
- Posted by Garrett