The Recycle for Cornwall campaign has been developed to raise public awareness of recycling and to provide consumers with a compelling reason to recycle.
The rise and rise of plastic shopping bags since they were first introduced into the world in the late 1950’s is quite staggering.
Like most plastic products their physical characteristics (light weight and water resistant) coupled with being cheap to produce (in monetary terms at least) and appropriate for carrying most sorts of shopping have made them a part of everyday life for the average consumer.
Sadly the useful life expectancy of the average plastic bag is very short. Starting life as crude oil, natural gas, or other petrochemical derivatives, many plastic bags are used just once before being thrown in the rubbish bin or even worse ending up as litter. According to the British Plastics Association, plastic bags make up just 1% of litter in the UK, but like much plastic litter it is not only an eye sore but a danger to wildlife.
Love them or hate them there is a simple solution to reduce our dependence on this largely unnecessary item. By using more durable bags when we go shopping we can make a dent in the number of bags consumed in the Cornwall.
In January 2002, the South African government required manufacturers to make plastic bags more durable and more expensive to discourage their disposal—prompting a 90-percent reduction in use. Similarly, the introduction of a bag tax in Ireland in 2002 led to a 95-percent reduction in use.
Currently there are no such changes afoot in the UK, although tentative moves are being made by retailers such as Ikea who are charging for plastic bags and have reduced the price of their reusable bags.
However, we don’t need to wait for someone to legislate before we do something about our dependence on the plastic bag!
In Cornwall it is easy to cut plastics bags out of our life. Hard wearing reusable bags are available across the county; all you need to do is remember to take them to the shops with you.
If you forget your bags, ask for a box to avoid taking more carriers, it’s all about changing your habits. It is difficult to completely eradicate plastic bags, they just seem to keep turning up in the cupboard under the sink or the stairs; so if you do have a number of plastic bags at home make sure that they get reused as much as possible before they are thrown away.
There have been developments made in the area of biodegradable or compostable plastic bags which are made from starches, polymers or poly-lactic acid, which degrade under certain conditions or after a predetermined length of time. There are two types of degradable plastic: bio-degradable plastics, which contain a small percentage of non oil-based material, such as corn starch; and photodegradable plastics, which will break down when exposed to sunlight.
There are however, a number of concerns over the use of degradable plastics. Firstly, these plastics will only degrade if disposed of in appropriate conditions. For example, a photodegradable plastic product will not degrade if it is buried in a landfill site where there is no light, they could also complicate plastics recycling sorting systems.
Some also argue that the use of these materials may lead to an increase in plastics waste and litter if people believe that discarded plastics will simply disappear.
If you own a shop in Cornwall try to avoid giving all your customers plastic bags, or go one better and stop using them at all and invest in paper bags which could be composted after use; or, if you would like to stock your own jute or cotton shopping bags get in touch with Recycle for Cornwall and link in with the campaign.
Make a difference TODAY
Buy a reusable shopping bag and keep it by your front door or in your car so you remember it every time you go to the shops.
However, we don’t need to wait for someone to legislate before we do something about our dependence on the plastic bag!