The Environment Audit Committee concludes the Government’s current proposals are a “complete mess” as Green Assembly Member Baroness Jenny Jones calls for the illusion of the “free” plastic bag to be cast aside.
Single use plastic bags are not only bad for the environment says Jenny Jones, but also force prices up in stores and cause money to be wasted in their disposal and cleaning them up. Photograph courtesy of Adrian S Pye.
The Environment Audit Committee concluded that by excluding small shops, takeaways and biodegradable carrier bags from the Government’s current proposals for introducing a 5p charge on carrier bags their proposals are a “complete mess” and “unnecessarily complicated”. The view for a universal charge was supported by a motion that was unanimously passed by the London Assembly. It called on Boris Johnson to request that the Secretary of State for the Environment should introduce a mandatory charge on all single use carrier bags. This motion was proposed by London Assembly Member Jenny Jones and took place on the 13th September 2012.
Jenny Jones said: “The Government’s carrier bag charge proposals look like a dog’s dinner. If we are serious about tackling the massive environmental damage that single use carrier bags cause, retailers and consumers need clarity and consistency. Only a universal charge can achieve this.”
“The illusion of the free plastic bag is just that, it’s an illusion; they are in fact quite expensive. Retailers pass on the cost to shoppers in the form of higher prices. We then pay for their disposal through council taxes or other taxes used for clearing blocked drains and waterways. Wildlife pays when birds and animals mistake plastic for food, or get entangled.”