Leading Article: A simple and proven solution

Could there be a more potent symbol of our throwaway society than a plastic bag, snagged and flapping on a suburban hedge? Even if a plastic bag is disposed of properly, it is likely to end up in a landfill site, where it will decompose for centuries, emitting harmful carbon dioxide.

The good news is that there is a simple and proven solution to this environmental blight. Ireland imposed a modest plastic bag tax in 2002, which has reduced their use by 90 per cent. The bad news is that, despite the fact that Britain's plastic bag pollution is every bit as bad as it used to be across the Irish Sea, our own government refuses to follow Dublin's example.

Yet something is stirring at a grass-roots level in this country. Earlier this year, a local campaigner in the Devon village of Modbury, Rebecca Hosking, persuaded all 43 local shops to substitute their plastic bags with reusable cloth bags. Traders in 80 other small towns around Britain are following suit. Brighton and Hove council last week became the largest authority in Britain to offer support for a voluntary ban. And the heads of London's 33 local authorities voted yesterday to support a tax on plastic bags within the capital.

Even supermarkets have sensed which way the wind is blowing. Marks & Spencer is trialling a 5p levy on its plastic bags. Sainsbury's is promoting a 10p "bag for life". Tesco gives reward points to shoppers who reuse their old ones. It all makes the Government's refusal to take a lead by imposing an Irish-style levy look somewhat perverse.

The Department for the Environment justifies itself by arguing that a levy would encourage people to use bags "made from other materials or alternative forms of packaging, which may be equally, or more, damaging to the environment". But this misses the point. A modest levy on plastic bags encourages people to think about the polyethylene sacks that are thrust into their hands whenever they visit the supermarket or the corner shop. The experience of Ireland has shown that, when subject to a levy, shoppers begin to consider whether they ought to reuse the bags, perhaps even switching to a regular cloth one. As an additional benefit, they give more thought to how they dispose of the bags.

It is likely that the real reason the Government is resisting a tax is that it fears it would be unpopular among shoppers. But they are too cautious. Surveys have shown that people would be willing to accept robust action clearly directed at reducing plastic bag waste.

A plastic bag tax would have a rapid and wholly beneficial effect on our environment. It is time that the Government had the courage of its supposedly green convictions and implemented a nationwide levy.

Interesting? Click here to explore further