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 An unpublished Government report shows us that the plastic carrier bag may be an environmental hero rather than an Eco villan.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


Carrier bags have always been an easy target for environmentalists, but this report shows that they are not the Eco villan as they have been portrayed, in actual fact they are the most environmentally friendly option available to consumers. British Retail Consortium Sustainability Director Andrew Opie said: "We're pleased to see the Environment Agency's report acknowledges single-use carrier bags can have less impact than the alternatives. Yes, the plastic bag has become symbolic but this report confirms it is not the great environmental evil some would have us believe.

"Agonising over bags misses the point. There are much bigger targets supermarkets are helping customers to work on, such as reducing food waste. To obsess over bags distracts consumers from making bigger changes to their habits which would do more to benefit the environment.

With the focus having been on the evil plastic carrier bag, retailers have almost halved the use of plastic carrier bags from 2006 to 2010, but in light of the current findings hopefully we can give the carrier bag a break and focus on the bigger environmental picture.