Plastic carrier bags
Environmental benefits: According to Recycle Now, on average each person consumes more than 290 plastic carrier bags per year.
Most are still made from non-degradable plastic, which takes hundreds of years to break down. Biodegradable bags are a better option but these can emit harmful greenhouse gas as they degrade, or can fail to degrade at all if buried in landfill.
How to recycle: Most major supermarkets will take back your plastic bags – they have special recycling banks for them.
If you would like to reduce the number of carrier bags you use, you could try:
- Buying a supermarket reusable bag, so that you can use them over and over again, reducing the amount of plastic waste you produce.
- Avoiding plastic bags altogether and buying an cotton or jute bag instead.
Useful links:
WRAP Carrier bag statement.
Defra, UK – Environmental Protection – recycling and waste
Team Green Britain and London Organising Committee of the Olympic Games and Paralympic Games Ltd (LOCOG) do not endorse any of the products, companies, organisations, opinions or websites that have been mentioned in this article. The content of this article has merely been provided as background to, or discussion on, various topical issues relating to the environment and it is not necessarily representative of the views of Team Green Britain and LOCOG. Further, any figures and calculations noted in this article are estimates (unless otherwise specified), and may vary in light of numerous factors and readers are advised to undertake their own research in relation to the facts and figures applicable to their particular circumstance.