back to menuTHE DEPARTMENT OF THE ENVIRONMENT, TRANSPORT AND THE REGIONS (DETR) is assiduous in sending out long faxes detailing the many and varied efforts it is making on our behalf. With its enormous breadth of responsibilities it is not short of material. Sometimes it comes up with something very interesting like the note which arrived in October announcing "OLD PLASTIC CARRIER BAGS ARE BRITAIN'S FAVOURITE ACCESSORY!"
We are, says the DETR, a nation of old plastic bag lovers, and the used supermarket carrier bag is this year's favourite fashion accessory. We prefer it to a designer or prestige shop carrier bag such as those from Gucci, Harrods, or Gap.
Reusing plastic carrier bags is, of course, good news for the environment. It helps reduce the amount of waste we throw away. The amount of carrier bags in circulation is staggering. Industry sources estimate that UK shoppers use 8 billion plastic carrier bags in a year. That equates to 134 for every person in the country and 323 for every household (of 2.41 persons? Ed).
So you carry your shopping home in a smart new plastic carrier bag. What happens to it then? You surely do not take it back to the supermarket and use it again, do you? Well, it seems that 52% of people use it again for shopping, 43% use it for taking books or materials to school or work and 39% use it to carry sports kit.
I notice that using it as a liner for the under sink rubbish container is not mentioned, though that is what 100% of supermarket bags are used for in the Editorial household, even if they do leak a bit sometimes. Perhaps the reason that posh plastic carrier bags are not so popular is that they are the wrong size to be used, ultimately, as rubbish bin liners.
The DETR says that one in five people in each situation surveyed did not reuse plastic carrier bags. Even those who did eventually found that they had to admit that they were worn out and disposed of them in the general rubbish. This could lead to problems, if it is not doing so already. Plastic carrier bags take a very long time to decompose.
The DETR is running an 'are you doing your bit?' campaign to encourage people to take simple, everyday actions to help protect their local and global environment. It complements other initiatives such as 'Going for Green' and the Energy Saving Trust and those run by local authorities and other bodies. The 'are you doing your bit?' campaigners suggest that there are many ways of avoiding picking up new plastic bags every time you shop. Some supermarkets sell cheap but strong 'bags for life' which can be reused time and time again (when you remember to take them with you) and often there are cardboard boxes for you to use which degrade much more quickly than most plastic.
The 'are you doing your bit?' campaign focuses on four areas:
For more information on how you can 'do your bit for the environment ring 0345 868686 or visit the neatly named website www.doingyourbit.org.uk. For more information on waste and recycling, key into the website at www.useitagain.org.uk.
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