London takes a lead on banning throw away shopping bags

London's council leaders have agreed to go ahead with a Bill that will seek to ban the distribution of free, throw away shopping bags in the capital.

The decision follows a London-wide consultation organised by London Councils on its proposals to introduce either a levy or a ban on throw away shopping bags in the capital. Over 90 per cent of people responding to the consultation called for action on shopping bags; nearly 60 per cent felt strongly enough to call for an outright ban.

Leading environmental organisation Waste Watch, and global social change movement We Are What We Do, have also today announced their support for the proposals.

In the UK, over 13 billion bags are issued every year to shoppers - roughly 220 per person every year.

For London, a conservative figure based on population size would indicate Londoners use at least 1.6 billion bags per year - although the number of tourists in the capital suggests that this figure is probably much higher.  

While some of these bags will be re-used once or twice, official figures reveal that only one in 200 of these are recycled, meaning that billions of shopping bags are sent to landfill every year. Many of these will be plastic bags that can take over 400 years to break down.

Welcoming the cross-party decision to push to ban throw-away shopping bags in the capital, London Councils Chairman Councillor Merrick Cockell said:

"The campaign to rid the capital of the environmental blight of throw away shopping bags begins here. As a society, we need to do far more to reduce the amount of waste we are sending to landfill and London as a city is determined to take an ambitious lead on this issue. I urge all Londoners to voice their support to their MP and back the Bill once it gets to Parliament."

Director of Waste Watch, Peter Robinsonsaid:

"We've seen successful action taken on carrier bags all across the world from Australia to Zanzibar, and now it's time for London to take a lead on this issue in the UK. Like the vast majority of Londoners, we want to see a massive reduction in disposable carrier bags going to landfill so we fully support this Bill."

Eugenie Harvey of We Are What We Do, said:

"It's truly fantastic to see so many organisations, environmental groups and individuals coming together around the issue of plastic bag usage in the UK. We Are What We Do is proud to have played its part in getting it onto the national agenda with the 'I'm Not A Plastic Bag' project. We are delighted to support the work that London Councils is doing to introduce a ban in the capital. Our belief in 'small actions x lots of people = big change' is that we will only see the end of the disposable carrier bag when every individual is inspired by such activity to decline a plastic bag every time they go shopping and to use a more sustainable alternative."

London Councils will now deposit a private Bill in Parliament at the end of the month. While the purpose of the Bill will be to encourage shops to provide more environmentally friendly alternatives, they will still be able to sell plastic bags. However it is hoped that any profits retailers generate from the sale of bags will be channelled into environmental projects.