500 billion plastic bags are consumed worldwide every year. That's 1 million bags a minute. (www.reusablebags.com)
167 bags used by the average British consumer, per year. (WRAP, 2005)
500 years, the time it takes a plastic bag to decay in landfill. (Change the World for a Fiver)
4.175 million years. The 'average' person's plastic bag legacy.
Only 1 in 200 plastic bags are recycled (Telegraph Magazine, 2007)
½ penny. The cost to supermarkets of producing 1 typical plastic bag (Information supplied to Scottish Parliament by the Carrier Bag Consortium)
£64-£80 million. The amount UK retailers spend per year on providing plastic bags to their customers (Information supplied to Scottish Parliament by the Carrier Bag Consortium)
International Activism
From Australia to Zanzibar. How the world got drastic around plastic.
Australia: Environment Ministers have challenged retailers to voluntarily reduce the 6.9 billion bags used each year.
They are now looking at introducing mandatory measures.
In 2003, Coles Bay in Tasmania banned plastic bags altogether and provided residents with alternatives such as calico bags.
Bangladesh: In March 2002, Bangladesh slapped an outright ban on all polythene bags after they were found to have been the main culprit during the 1988 and 1998 floods that submerged two-thirds of the country. The problem was that discarded bags were choking the drainage system.
Bangladeshi jute makers are set to benefit from the government ban of polythene bags introduced this week.
Denmark: As part of a larger packaging tax introduced in 1994, Denmark taxed plastic bags. The stated aim was to promote the use of reusable bags. However, the tax was paid by retailers when they purchased bags, rather than by shoppers. Still, consumption of paper and plastic bags has declined by 66%.
Denmark has also employed a general waste tax that has proven to be very successful. The waste tax is differentiated so that it is most expensive to landfill waste, cheaper to incinerate it and tax exempt to recycle it. Also (as described above), they have so-called "green" taxes on packaging, plastic bags, disposable tableware and nickel-cadmium batteries.
Hong Kong: In 2006, the voluntary pact on plastic bag reduction was launched by the government and since then, supermarkets have handed out 80 million fewer plastic bags. Since early this year, the Environmental Protection Department has signed the voluntary pact with 10 major supermarket and retail-outlet chains. Besides the Voluntary Agreement, there are also campaigns on plastic bag reduction organized by green groups, including the current "No Plastic Bag Day" campaign and "Green Newsstands Label" campaign. The "No Plastic Bag Day" campaign is organized by the Green Student Council with the support from the Environment Department. The first Tuesday of each month is now designated as "No Plastic Bag Day". Consumers are encouraged to bring their own shopping bags or to donate $0.5 for each plastic bag they ask for.
Ireland: Ireland took the lead in Europe, slapping a tax on plastic bags in 2002. The Irish government says that the levy has cut their use there by more than 95%. The tax, known as the 'plas tax', has also raised millions of euros in revenue which is to be used for environmental projects.
Maharashtra: In August 2005, the government in the western Indian state of Maharashtra has banned the sale and use of plastic bags.
Although the sale of bags would be banned, manufacturing would be allowed as companies could sell them in other parts of the country
Paris: The city of Paris has decided to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags in large stores as of 2007, in an effort to cut down on pollution.
Rwanda: In 2004, thousands of people were encouraged to take the day off work to help pick up some of the plastic bags which littered the country.Then in January 2006, Rwanda cracked down on the use of plastic bags in favour of paper bags. They have stopped traders from importing and selling them and shops have been banned from giving plastic bags to their customers.
South Africa: In South Africa, plastic bags have been dubbed the 'national flower' because so many can be seen flapping from fences and caught in bushes. In response, in May 2003, South Africa introduced legislation to ban thin, flimsy plastic bags in favour of new, thicker, stronger ones which consumers would have to buy. The idea being that shoppers would either have to take bags with them when they go shopping, or buy the new, thicker plastic bags that are easier and more profitable to recycle.
Taiwan: In October 2001, Taiwan introduced a ban on distribution of free single-use plastic bags by government agencies, schools and the military. In 2003, the ban was extended to include supermarkets, fast food outlets and department stores, and will eventually apply to street vendors and food dealers. Customers must now pay NT$1 to NT$2 for a bag
United Kingdom: While a plastic bag tax has yet to be adopted by the government (shame on you), they fully support reusable carrier bags and some retailers have taken up the cause. "Point systems", "Bag for life" and "penny back" schemes have been introduced by some of the larger supermarket chains. Gold stars go to IKEA who do not offer plastic bags and Sainsbury's, who recently had a "Bag for life" day where they handed out free long-life bags to encourage sustainable shopping. In the absence of a clear lead from goverenment or corporations certain councils and towns have taken the initiative. The town of Modbury in Devon became the first plastic-bag free town in Europe after all 43 of its independent retailers committed to binning the bag. Citizen copycatting, seriously encouraged.
Zanzibar, Tanzania: In July 2006, Zanzibar banned the import and production of plastic bags in an attempt to save its threatened ecology.
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