Pact ... But Not in Plastic

Boris Johnson Sets An Olympic Goal For London To Be Britain’s First Plastic Bag-Free City
By Ben Webster via Times On Line

London could become Britain’s first plastic-bag-free city in time for the Olympics in 2012, under plans published today by Boris Johnson to reduce litter and landfill waste.

Shoppers will be given greater incentives to bring their own reusable bags, and supermarkets may be encouraged to charge for single-use bags issued at the checkout.

Mr Johnson, the Mayor of London, will propose aggressive targets today for cutting the amount of waste going to landfill and a complete ban on this form of disposal by 2025. He wants the proportion of waste sent for recycling to double within ten years to 50 per cent.

He believes that it is possible to make rapid progress in reducing the 13 billion plastic bags issued to shoppers each year in Britain because experience elsewhere has shown that people can easily be persuaded to live without them.

The Republic of Ireland cut plastic bag consumption by 90 per cent when it introduced a 15 cent charge per bag in 2002. The average person in Ireland used 27 bags in 2008, compared with 220 per person in Britain.

Mr Johnson’s draft waste strategy says: “If all UK shoppers cut out just one in five bags, it would save about 40,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases a year — equivalent to taking over 12,500 cars off the road for a year.”

Isabel Dedring, the mayor’s environment adviser, said the aim was to achieve a massive reduction in single-use plastic bags before the Olympics, allowing London to be presented as a plastic-bag-free city. Modbury in Devon became Britain’s first plastic-bag-free town in 2007.

Mr Johnson will explore measures for reducing bag consumption, including charging and incentive schemes. He plans to hold discussions with supermarkets and local authorities before publishing proposals this summer.

Marks & Spencer cut bag consumption by 80 to 90 per cent after introducing charges. Other retailers, including Tesco and Sainsbury, prefer rewarding shoppers with loyalty points for reusing bags. Their schemes have cut consumption by 48 per cent in three years.

Mr Johnson’s strategy also calls on chewing gum manufacturers to develop non-stick alternatives to reduce the £10 million annual cost of removing gum from London’s pavements.

The next intake of Tory MPs will not share David Cameron’s commitment to fighting climate change. “Reducing Britain’s carbon footprint” was put last of 19 priorities by 141 candidates who replied to a survey. Reducing the deficit was top, followed by cutting red tape, according to the ConservativeHome websPacite.