Gareth Kane on the demise of the carrier bag
As cities, towns and islands across the UK phase out plastic bags, Gareth Kane asks if this is the start of something bigger.
Today is recycling day chez Kane, but when I went to the big box of carrier bags under the sink to protect the newspapers from the rain, the cupboard was bare. Cue mad dash around the house trying to prise bags from all their favourite illicit hidey-holes before the big blue truck arrived (there are few more depressing feelings than having to bring your recycling back in again). Maybe, I thought as I pounded the stairs for the fifth time, the plastic bag is truly an endangered species.
The refusal of the UK Government to put an Irish-style tax on single use carrier bags has long been a complaint of the environmental movement, but, according to the Guardian, citizens across the country are taking matters into their own hands. The Devonshire town of Modbury was famously the first to phase out carriers with a voluntary agreement among shopkeepers, followed by the 'bag ladies' of Hebden Bridge. Now everyone from London to the smallest hamlet seem to be getting in on the act. Mull, Arran and Guernsey are racing to be the first plastic bag-free island in the world.
What this means in the bigger scheme of things is a little more complicated. In a different article last week, the Guardian reported that plastic bags are responsible for one-five thousandth of the average person's overall climate impact. Probably more important is their contribution to flooding (they were banned in Bangladesh for this reason), damage to wildlife and litter.
But for me, most of this is beside the point. No elected official likes to be seen to be left behind by those they represent. If citizens across the country can get together and make small changes off their own bat, they empower (read: scare) councils and Governments to get a move on. Go, bag ladies, go!
Until next time,
Gareth
Gareth Kane
Eco-living Blog
Terra Infirma
