Councils want to follow Ireland's lead and ban plastic bags

London

They mean well, the courteous Sri Lankan staff at my local convenience store, but there is one thing that grates: they always offer a plastic bag, whether it's for a packet of Jelly Babies, a tin of beans or a pint of milk. Tired of saying 'no thanks' and attempting to explain my actions, I simply say: 'I'm trying to give them up.' Often this elicits a strange look as if I'm trying to give up milk, beans or Jelly Babies.

You cannot blame them, especially when the customer in front asks for a bag for his pre-packaged loaf.

But things must change. Plastic bag use in the city contributes more than 200,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide each year, the equivalent of 72,000 cars on the road. And things will change if councils get their way. Tired of waiting for central government action, the 33 local authorities want to follow Ireland's lead and ban plastic bags.

Bags, they say, are wasteful, bad for the environment, and at the least, scar the landscape. By 2010, each council faces a GBP150 (HK$2,400) fine for each tonne of landfill over the agreed European Union limit. Most are heading for a hefty bill.

The first part of the ban would see a bag levy. The money would then be ploughed into recycling facilities. Charge the consumer, councils claim, and usage will drop. Consumption fell in Ireland by 90 per cent within months of a 15-euro (HK$1.62) tax in 2002.