Two weeks left for Londoners to have their say on proposal for capital-wide ban on throw away bags

Londoners are reminded that they have just less than two weeks left to take part in the consultation on whether to introduce a London-wide levy - or even an outright ban - on throw away shopping bags.

London Councils launched the consultation last month to give Londoners the opportunity to tell them what they think of one of the key provisions that will make up the 10th London Local Authorities Bill (LLAB).

The consultation runs until Friday 26 October 2007; to take part, Londoners need to visit www.londoncouncils.gov.uk/thebigquestion

Commenting on the consultation, London Councils' Executive Member for Sustainability Councillor Sean Brennan said:

"I am delighted that this consultation is engaging so many Londoners in helping to decide one of our key proposals to go into the 10th London Local Authorities Bill.

London, along with the rest of the world's major cities, will play a major role in how we rise to the challenge of climate change, and Londoners are evidently keen to step up to the mark and give their views on how we do this. I would urge everyone to seize this opportunity to help shape London's environmental future."

London Councils first announced its intention to tackle the issue of throw away shopping bags in July, and is now calling on Londoners to tell them what they want. This is a unique opportunity for the capital's residents to help shape and draft a future piece of legislation - and one that can make a significant difference to the environment.

The consultation asks the public its views on a range of options - from doing nothing, to an outright ban on all throw away shopping bags - or just for plastic ones.

In the UK, shoppers receive over 13 billion bags every year - 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.

The government, retailers and consumers recognise this as a problem, and many of them are already making efforts to reduce the amount of throw away shopping bags sent to landfill. London Councils agrees with these concerns, and wants to give Londoners a chance to lead the country in a bold initiative.