There are far better ways than bag taxes
to help our environment

The carrier bag industry is as environment conscious as anyone. We are real people who believe it is crucial to invest in the future of our planet for the sake of our children.

Carrier bag taxes would bring no significant environmental improvement and could well cause more damage to our environment by encouraging more energy intensive, heavier, less durable alternatives which will not be reused and when confined to landfill will decompose to help produce damaging greenhouse gases.

But we accept that all industries have a responsibility towards promoting better routes to true sustainability. So here are a few sensible suggestions:

• Print "reduce, re-use, recycle" on all carrier bags - Many retailers are leading the way with this message.
  
  
• Provide carrier bag dump bins in supermarkets for used and damaged carriers. These can then be converted into a second life - for example street furniture and safety bollards.
  
  
• Carry out full independent Life Cycle Analyses of environmental impacts of all forms of packaging so the public can make its own choice of material based on real science rather than environmental spin.
  
  
• Encourage more recycling facilities capable of converting used plastic bags into kerbside recycling boxes.