The green debate has gained momentum. Environmental concerns have never been further at the forefront of the public consciousness; from the issue of carbon emissions to those of sustainable housing. But there is now another issue staking a claim on the green agenda as plastic bags and overzealous packaging are identified as further contributors to climate change.
Anyone who has visited a supermarket lately will have undoubtedly noticed that there is currently a concerted effort to make single use plastic bags and excessive packaging a less visible part of the landscape. A number of leading retailers and manufacturers have opted to reduce the amount of packaging used for their Easter eggs this year, and single use carrier bags have been given a price tag.
As the green agenda seems to broaden in scope on a regular basis, it is time to examine just what the issues surrounding this debate are, and the implications they pose for the UK and its businesses.
According to the statistics compiled by Waste Watch, a leading environmental organisation, London annually produces 3.4 million tonnes of rubbish, creating enough waste to fill an Olympic sized swimming pool every hour. In 1997, recycling targets were introduced to the UK under the Packaging and Waste Directive in an attempt to address the growing problem and currently, the recovery target stands at 60% which has to be achieved by December 2008.
Plastics are believed to make up seven per cent of the average amount of waste generated by a household. While this is not a particularly large sum, when put into context, the impending problem is clear. Today, 20 times more plastic is produced than 50 years ago and although the benefits of plastic are widely accepted, so too are its negative implications. At the crux of the argument against its widespread use is the fact that as a non-degradable material, plastic is notoriously hard to dispose of, which is why it poses a significant risk to the environment.
Waste Watch reports that supermarkets hand over 17.5 billion plastic bags to customers every year. It maintains that this equates to 209 plastic bags for every person in the UK and notes that many plastic bags end up as litter. According to the Marine Conservation Society, its annual beach survey revealed that 55% of litter found on Britain’s beaches in 2006 was plastic. This is placing a burden on Britain’s wildlife. Mike Webster, a spokesperson for Waste Watch said "There is a massive whirlpool of trash floating around in the south-pacific and this impacts on marine mammals." He warns that many species are in danger of being "killed off" as they ingest the plastic that is often blown by the wind from the shore.
While society's attitude to recycling has improved – Recycle for London reports that the amount Londoners recycle has risen in recent years from eight per cent in 2000 to 20% today – it seems that environmentalists believe that intervention is needed before plastic gets to the recycle stage. In 2004, the Greater London Authority published a technical report entitled "Waste Options Modelling" which revealed some worrying facts, namely that the capital’s landfill space is being pushed to its limits. London has around ten million tonnes of waste management capacity, but by 2020, the city is expected to produce 25.8 million tonnes of waste.
Fears for the environment have prompted a crackdown on the prevalence of plastic bags and packaging, and steps have been taken to phase them out. While this is not an entirely new development - the Republic of Ireland imposed a 15 cent tax on plastic bags as early as 2002 which was hailed as a "success" as it cut their use by 90%, and the Wal-Mart chain has also reduced its plastic bag and packaging use - there is a renewed effort for others to follow suit.
In February 2007, the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs (Defra) said that a selection of UK retailers had agreed to reduce the environmental impact of their carrier bags by 25% by the end of 2008. Defra noted that if the bid proved successful, carbon dioxide emissions would be reduced by 58,500 tonnes a year.
Marks & Spencer is the latest retailer to pledge a commitment to the environment and announced in February that it would begin charging customers 5p for single use carrier bags and cutting down on the use of non-glass packaging by 25%. The company hopes to reduce the use of carrier bags by up to 33% in the next three years.
Moves such as this are commended by those working to protect the environment. Waste Watch spokesman Mike Webster believes that retailers are failing to give "the right message" by "giving out single use carrier bags in this day and age when we are worrying about resource use more and more”. Mr Webster praised the retailers who have shown support for the initiative, but remarked that "until Marks & Spencer started doing it in the last couple of weeks the main retailers seem to have shied away from it".
The organisation believes that if retailers fail to show more willingness to protect the environment, then it is worth considering a compulsory charge, and earlier this week, chancellor Alistair Darling unveiled plans to do just that in his Budget statement. Under new laws, a tax will be imposed on plastic bags if retailers do not assume responsibility to charge more for them by 2009.
While Mr Webster may be in favour of these plans, Stephen Robertson, a spokesperson for the British Retail Consortium, is not. He labelled it “outrageous to suggest carrier bags are a major cause of climate change”, and argued “there are many more significant contributors” currently affecting the environment. He asserts that retailers are concerned about the environment and argues that they have taken steps to reduce their carbon footprints. "Huge progress has been made without any need for legislation", he said.
Mr Robertson's claim that progress has been made is corroborated by statistics. In November last year, Sainsbury's announced that usage of its single use carrier bags had been significantly reduced as a direct result of its initiatives. Usage fell by 10% and the use of re-usable carrier bags increased by almost 50%.
But by the same token, it is unarguably true that much more needs to be done and all retailers need to rise to the challenge not just of climate change but 'plastic pollution' more widely. Mr Webster says that "retailers take their environmental responsibilities very seriously, but want policies that are based on clear evidence, rather than knee-jerk reactions to highly emotive campaigns", but the environmental implications are clear. Waste Watch's Kevin Webster notes that on average, plastic bags have a lifespan of around 20 minutes before they are thrown away. Considering that they then take up to 1,000 years to biodegrade, giving them up seems like a highly rational idea.
