Plastic Carrier Bags - The Unsung Hero?

 An unpublished Government report shows us that the plastic carrier bag may be an environmental hero rather than an Eco villan.

The report in question "Life Cycle Assessment of Supermarket Carrier Bags" reveals that the Eco warriors bag of choice the cotton bag may be a wolf in sheep's clothing, with HDPE carrier bags which have a baseline global warming potential of 1.57kg, reducing to just 1.4kg after one re use, the report shows that you would have to use your cotton bag 131 times for it to emit a similar level of CO2 equivalent to HDPE plastic carriers bags and after just reusing your carrier bag once this increases to 171.

With the current situation in Wales that has seen the Welsh Assembly pass a compulsory charge of 5p per carrier bag onto its retailers, this report could not have come at a better time, it highlights the fact that all packaging material has an environmental impact but the key is to either re use your plastic carrier bags in what ever way possible, for example as a bin liner or if you are sticking with your cotton bag you need to make sure you use it over and over again.

Short but sweet customer testimonial

From: Graham West
Date: 27 February 2011 11:09
Subject: Eclipse Carrier Bags
To: Templecoomb Steele <alison.steele@templecoombe.co.uk>


Hi Alison

Just a quick message to say that the carrier bags arrived in good time and my client is very pleased with them.

Kind regards

Graham

Another happy customer

From: Joseph Swift 
Date: 23 February 2011 13:13

Subject: RE: ION Bags

To: Alison Steele





Dear Alison

The bags arrived this morning, thank you very much for turning them around for us so quickly!



Best wishes



Joseph



Joseph Swift

Office Manager





Kairos in Soho
 

Carrier bags not eco-villains after all

A draft report by the Environment Agency, suggests that ordinary polythene bags used by shops are actually more environmentally friendly than the supposedly low impact choices.

They also suggest that, in order to balance out the tiny impact of each lightweight plastic bag, consumers would have to use the same cotton bag almost 200 times! 

To read the full story, please visit http://goo.gl/7bDBV

We have always felt that all bags have their place in the marketplace and that the criticism against polythene bags has been unfair.

Lets face it, polythene bags are an easy target and highly visible target, let's hope sense finally prevails.

Glowing Testimonial

----- Original Message -----

From: Jay Woods

To: Jackie Beck

Sent: Friday, February 11, 2011 3:41 PM

Subject: Woodsfilm Bags

Hi Jackie,

apologies this comes so very late after your delivery but I just wanted to thank you very much for the great job you did on the bags. They look great and we're really very happy with them.

Thank you especially for your patience and handholding us through the process. Much appreciated. I hope we can come to you again in the future

Kind regards

Jay

Stormont levy on Carrier Bags postponed until at least 2012

Following a meeting at Stormont on Wednesday 9th February between Mrs Patrinne Irvine & Mr Ronnie Irvine of Templecoombe Ltd. and Mr Mitchell Mcloughlin & Mr Daithi McKay from Sinn Fein's Environment Committee, it was disclosed that any decision on the proposed levy on Carrier Bags in Northern Ireland would be postponed until at least Mid 2012. However, they have taken away all our findings & promised to comment on them!
Ultimately it will be for the new Parliament & whoever the Environment Minister is to decide.
Be sure that we be in touch with the new Environment Minister & will let you know how we get on.

For more information, please call the office on 01234 712121

How marketing reduced plastic bag use while creating a desirable product | In-Depth Analysis | Marketing Week

How marketing reduced plastic bag use while creating a desirable product | In-Depth Analysis | Marketing Week

Designer Anya Hindmarch attempted to change carrier bag habbits with the launch of a bag she produced in conjunction with social change movement We Are What We Do. 

Norfolk company leads the way in carrier bag recycling

Millions of plastic carrier bags are being saved from landfill through a partnership between two East Anglian firms.

It is now possible to recycle oxodegradable film, alongside ordinary plastic film. Until now, the additive used to make them degrade contaminated the whole batch.

The move means that millions of bags can now be recycled, saving on raw materials and the energy required to make new plastic film.

Read the whole story here http://goo.gl/NFq6D

Carrier Bag Usage Continues To Fall

The number of carrier bags issued by UK supermarkets has fallen by more than 40 per cent since 2006, according to figures released by WRAP (Waste & Resources Action Programme).

The fall was recorded across both 'single-use’ carrier bags and all reusable bags, which overall have seen a 4.5 billion reduction in use – representing 41 per cent cut – since 2006, when figures were first recorded, according to WRAP. The weight of bags handed out has also fallen by 42 per cent, or by 39,700 tonnes over the four years. Read Full Story here

5p Carrier Bag Charge Becomes Law in Wales

From the 1st October 2011 Welsh shoppers will be the first in the UK to face a mandatory charge for single use carrier bags after the Welsh Assembly Government approved the plans to make retailers legally obliged to charge for every single use carrier bag.

The original charge for the single use carrier bags was going to be 7p but after the BRC (British Retail Consortium) pointed out that this would make the carrier bags more expensive than some of the bags for life offered by retailers the decision was made to reduce the cost to 5p.

The aim of this charge is to encourage the use of re usable bags for life, but a consequence of this charge could be a huge increase in the use of the heavier bags for life as the customers may start to treat them as single use carrier bags rather than re using them. If this is the case the impact on the environment could be significant with each bag for life containing up to 8 times as much material than single use carrier bags.

Rather than a one size fits all solution the BRC is in favour of retailers being given the power to judge what will work best for their customers, this approach has seen the Welsh retailers reduce carrier bag use by up to 50% since 2006.

For more information visit us on YouTube where we have a video on this subject.

What are your views on the use of carrier bags, what is the best way forward to reduce the impact on the environment. Please comment.