Supermarkets and their customers have reduced the number of ‘single-use' carrier bags being handed out for the fourth year in a row but doubt has been cast over the extent of progress on the issue.
Since independent monitoring began in 2006, the number handed out in the UK each year has been cut by 4.6 billion.
Over the same period the total weight of material used has more than halved.
Annual totals for use of ‘single-use' bags have fallen every year since 2006. In the year to May 2010 43 per cent fewer bags were handed out than in 2006. When bags of all types are counted the reduction over that time is 41 per cent - showing this is a genuine gain not simply a case of thin plastic bags being replaced by other types.
The results were revealed by the British Retail Consortium (BRC), whose participating members had their results independently monitored by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme).
In a press release, the BRC said the figures were a “a ringing endorsement of the voluntary approach” while BRC director general Stephen Robertson said: "This is a tremendous achievement by supermarkets, customers and staff, especially as between 2006 and 2009 the amount of goods sold by participating retailers grew by over six per cent.
“The sustained reduction shows that customers are permanently adopting the habit of re-using their bags.
"The reduction in bag use is great news, but it's the halving of the total weight of single-use carrier bags which shows retailers really scoring on the crucial issue of reducing environmental impact.
But, writing in The Independent, James Moore said: “It is indeed good news that there are fewer carrier bags filling up Britain's rapidly diminishing supply of landfill sites than there were. But in the year ending 31 May 2010 an astonishing 6.1 billion were still handed out. So while the number of bags being given out has declined, and the way they are made makes them marginally less destructive, that still amounts to an awful lot of plastic to be disposed of. What's more, from the BRC's figures, the rate of decline appears to be slowing compared with when the campaign to persuade shoppers to use alternatives was launched.
“Supermarkets have traditionally argued against statutory measures to reduce bag use, arguing that they are unnecessary and penalise their customers. I'm not so sure. Plastic bags are the things that are unnecessary - there are now plenty of alternatives available for a small fee,” he continued. “They foul up the environment and cost an awful lot of money to dispose of. Therefore it is not unreasonable to impose a fee on those who choose to use them to cover the cost of that disposal - say 10p a bag or so, collectable as a tax. That's £600m or so of revenues for the government - a tidy sum when you think about it, particularly given the state of the public finances.”
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