Success is in the bag as 10p levy helps green battle

Charging for plastic bags is proving a big success in the fight to reduce pollution, says Midlands green energy expert Ron Fox. 

He was commenting after the latest government statistics showed that shoppers had cut the number of their single-use plastic bags by another fifth since the charge had been doubled from 5p to 10p in 2021.

“The scheme has worked well in that the average person now buys around three single-use carrier bags a year each, down from around 140 eight years ago in 2014,” said Ron, of Noreus Ltd. 

According to data published by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) the number of plastic bags was down by more than 20 per cent from 627 million in the year 2019 to 2020 to 496 million in the 12 months from 2021 to 2022.

In the same period England’s main retailers, Asda, Marks and Spencer, Morrisons, Sainsbury’s, The Co-operative Group, Tesco and Waitrose sold 27 per cent or 74 million fewer bags, down from 271 million to 197 million. 

This was also a 97 per cent reduction from the 7.64 billion single-use carrier bags handed out by the main retailers in 2014 when the charges were introduced.

Ron said the problem is that plastic sticks in the environment for years and has been found all over the world including the Arctic. Plastic bags also contribute to global warming as they are made from chemicals that come from oil, gas and coal. The problem is then made worse if they are burnt in incinerators which releases more climate-wrecking gases and toxic air pollution. 

On top of that they threaten wildlife as they spread toxins and enter our rivers, soils and oceans and get into the food chain.

“All these figures are very encouraging and going in the right direction,” said Ron, of Noreus Ltd on the University of Keele Science Innovation Park. “The only problem is that many supermarkets now only offer ‘bags for life’ which are not included in the figures.”

According to research by the environment charity Greenpeace each household used almost 57 bags for life in 2019 which adds up to more than 1.5 billion issued by supermarkets. Because they are thicker and more durable, they have a far greater environmental impact both in production and how they break down. 

But a study by the Environment Agency concluded that bags for life needed to be used at least four times to ensure they contributed less to climate change than the lighter, single-use bags. Meanwhile, The Co-op supermarket had ditched thin polythene bags in favour of compostable carrier bags in April 2021

The government department also pointed out that they have restricted plastic straws and cotton buds, introduced a new tax on plastic packaging in April this year and are looking into banning single use plastic cutlery and plates. 

For more information on how to cut plastic and your carbon footprint, call Ron on 01782 756995. 

Caption: Winning the battle against plastic – shoppers have cut the number of their single-use plastic bags since a 10p levy was launched.