Boris Johnson's plastic bag attacks would create more waste and environmental damage in London

CBC, the trade lobbying group fighting environmental misinformation on plastic carrier bags, says that Boris Johnson is ignoring ten years of studies and research which have already led to anti-bag legislation being killed off in Westminster, Scotland and London.

CBC Chairman, Paul Marmot has written to Mr Johnson to point out the facts and said, “It is incredible that, after so many years, we still have politicians who are ignoring the science in favour of political spin. The reality is that lightweight plastic carriers have the lowest environmental impacts of any alternative and are re-used by 80% of people. Mr Johnson also chooses to ignore the fact that, through voluntary action by retailers in the last two years, the use of plastic carriers has halved and there is clear evidence from independent studies that attacking plastic bags simply displaces demand to heavier, higher impact alternatives.”

CBC has reiterated the Government statistics which show that far less than 1% of landfill comprises plastic bags of all types (including bin bags) and Encams research which shows that a minute proportion - 0.167% - of litter is plastic bags.

The trade group has also pointed to research carried out for the Scottish Government by AEAT Consulting which indicated that more waste would be created and more heavy vehicles forced onto the roads if retailers had to provide heavier alternatives which take up to ten times the volume and weight of thin plastic bags – an inevitable consequence of consumers being pushed into buying bin bags and waste sacks for domestic and pet waste disposal.

CBC also said that attempting to legislate against plastic carrier bags has recently failed in London after the London Local Authorities (Shopping Bags) Bill was aborted last year. “Millions of pounds of taxpayers’ money has already been wasted in perpetuating environmental myths about plastic bags” said Paul Marmot. “Mr Johnson says he wants the capital to be plastic bag-free by the time of the Olympics but totally fails to recognise the negative effect this might have on impulse shopping by the millions of visitors expected for the Games let alone the fact that 23,000 competitors and officials will be taking advantage of plastic bags for everything from sports kit to snacks and sandwiches.”

In its letter, CBC also reminded Mr Johnson that attempting to discriminate against plastic as one of a number of competing materials used for carriers would fall foul of EU Competition Law.Paul Marmot concluded, “All we ask for is a fair, open and scientifically-sound approach to the carrier bag issue in the UK and we have to rely on Government to ensure this is achieved. The Environment Agency Life Cycle Analysis which promised this in 2007 is still unpublished and we have to question why. Is it because it is likely to prove that, for the 80% who re-use their bags, plastic has the least environmental impacts? This continuing absence of an expert Life Cycle Analysis has contributed for some years to media coverage and green lobbying based on ignorance and emotion. It has also led to a failure to recognise that all types of plastic bags represent an excellent opportunity to reduce, re-use and recycle.”