There are now so many plastic bags in the world’s oceans that they form huge garbage islands. Some of these islands are bigger than the size of France.
Plastic bags are responsible for the death of many land and sea creatures. England is finally following the rest of the UK and introducing a 5 pence levy to be charged by all businesses with a staff greater than 250 employees. This scheme has already proved itself with the public in Wales, Northern Ireland and Scotland.
In their 2015 Manifesto, the Green Party pledged to do away with damaging incineration and landfill and to boost spending on recycling and responsible waste disposal by 50%. Greens would stop sending food waste to landfill and instead invest in biogas plants, using anaerobic digestion of waste to produce electricity and bio-fertiliser.
Let’s hope that future legislation on the vital issues of waste and recycling will be faster than the current slow steps to remove plastic bags from our lives.
Alison Teal
Nether Edge Ward Green Party