Plastic not-so fantastic
Last week Marks and Spencer and B&Q both announced that they were to start charging customers for plastic bags. In the budget, Alistair Darling has said "Laws will be introduced by 2009 to charge for using plastic bags unless supermarkets do it themselves".
What's the problem?
About 13 billion plastic bags are handed out in the UK every year. Each bag is used on average for 20 minutes and they take over 1,000 years to rot down.
What's being done?
British shops have agreed to reduce their use of plastic bags by at least 25% by the end of the year. They are introducing various schemes such as offering cash incentives to people who re-use them or of course, charging for them.
Modbury makes a stand
Shopkeepers in Modbury, a small town in Devon, claim to be entirely free of plastic bags. All of the 43 shopkeepers in the small Devon town have stopped using plastic bags in a bid to become more green, an idea suggested by a local resident.
Any defence of the plastic bag?
Recycled bags take more energy to make and paper bags are heavier to transport. Plastic bags are waterproof and many people do re-use them.
Have your say
What do you think about the great supermarket plastic bag debate? Login and have your say on the discussion board shown below.
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