Banning plastic bags needs more thinking

Published: 23 July, 2008

The Association of Convenience Stores has said the decision by London Councils to lobby for a ban on free plastic bags needs more thinking and potentially a wider remit.

London Councils, an umbrella group for 33 London authorities, is looking to introduce a bill that would ban free plastic bags and possibly require retailers that charge for any plastic bag to donate that money to environmental causes.

London Councils said a public consultation received 90% approval for action on free plastic bags with 60% calling for an outright ban. London Councils plans to introduce legislation to Parliament using the private bills procedure on November 27.

James Lowman, ACS' chief executive said: "ACS is committed to encouraging retailers and their customers to reduce the amount of plastic bags they use. We signed up to the industry ambition of reducing the environmental impact of plastic bags by 25% by the end of 2008 and we are working alongside Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs and the Waste Resources Action Programme to pursue this objective.

"In order to change plastic bag use we need the buy- in of Government, local authorities and consumers, so we welcome the energy and commitment of London Councils. However, there are a number of unanswered questions about how the ban would work, and we remain sceptical about developing London- specific solutions. We will work with London Councils to better understand how this proposal can be implemented."

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