Melksham
Climate Friendly Group
Supermarket Plastic Bags
Although most Supermarkets are aiming towards Green credentials, they refuse to give up the throwaway plastic bag and have opted for the biodegradable alternative. The problems for wildlife from the biodegradable bag is highlighted on the Plastic Bags Information page. We welcome the Supermarkets introducing schemes to reduce the amount of bags but it is usual when reaching the checkout for the till assistant to straightaway reach for a plastic bag whether or not the customer has brought a bag with them.
So the Supermarkets have chosen biodegradable bags and point out that these can be recycled. Unfortunately this leads to a problem because biodegradable plastic cannot be mixed with non biodegradable in the recycling process with serious consequences for getting it wrong. In addition the recycling process usually takes place away from Britain and the resulting procedure takes 85 times more energy than recycling paper. It is also worth considering that five trillion (that's 5 followed by 12 noughts) plastic bags are produced each year using £3 billion worth of crude oil, a commodity that is becoming rare.
The throwaway bag is an example of our wasteful society and, if we want to have a meaningful existence, we will need to change.
The best solution is to use a Bag for Life - there are many inexpensive options available - and the Supermarkets could help whilst they continue with throwaway bags by making a charge for each bag. Supermarkets that do charge have noticed a huge reduction in the number of bags taken.
