Plastic bag use rises but you think they should be free

Back in November I reported on plans to ban free plastic bags in Wales and asked whether paying 5p per bag would help make us greener.

Your comments rolled in – many agreed that paying for bags was the way forward, but others were firmly against the idea – creating a healthy, balanced debate.

Let’s pay for bags

‘[The charge] definitely changed things in Ireland when they introduced it in 2002,’ enthused Mhanley. ‘It has cut down the number of plastic bags that were often seen flying about as litter, I think it’s a great thing to have introduced this. I don’t know why the UK has taken so long to get there.’

Sophie Gilbert agreed, but went one step further, asking, ‘I wonder if just 5p is going to be that big a deterrent. Maybe 20p would be better.’

And, for Fat Sam, ‘it shouldn’t cost us anything other than a change in attitude – we remember to take the strong bags as much as we remember to take [our] wallet. It’s a no brainer. No excuse. Do not pass Go until you re-use your bags.’

Then we watched as the poll votes rocketed through the roof. With nearly 3,500 votes, this is easily our most popular poll to date – and the results paint quite a different picture to the comments.

Bags should be free

Over 80% of you (2,480 people) insisted that plastic bags should be free. A further 12% thought paying 5p per bag was about right, and only 7% thought they should cost more.

So what were the arguments against the scheme? Peter Robinson raised the issue of reusing them as bin bags. ‘We have a kitchen waste bucket and we line it with supermarket bags. If bags are abolished I will have to purchase rolls of bin liners,’ he argued, with many others backing him up.

Meanwhile, Mal admitted that charging for carriers has changed their attitude in the opposite way: ‘I did the majority of my food shopping at Marks & Spencer for the best part of twenty years until they started charging for bags. I haven’t shopped there since.’

UK plastic bag use on the rise

So, who’s right? Obviously, I’m biased, but I spotted some new figures about plastic bag use today, and they seem to point firmly in favour of charging for bags.

While plastic bag use in Britain rises, usage in Ireland (which imposed a tax on plastic bags in 2002) has fallen dramatically. Figures by the New Statesman from official government sources show that the monthly number of bags used by each person in the UK dropped from 11 in 2002 to 7.2 in 2009 and then rose to 7.7 last year. In Ireland, figures compiled from plastic bag tax receipts show usage has dropped from 27 in 2002 to just two in 2009.

With those numbers, it’s hard to argue that the tax isn’t having a strong impact on consumer behaviour in Ireland. So if you were one of those 81% who said bags should be free, has it changed your mind – or will you wait and see how Wales fares when it introduces its ban in October?

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