Plastic bags: give 'em up!

There are 17 billion plastic bags given out to British consumers every year. Only 1 in 200 are recycled, and the rest take from 15 to 1,000 years to biodegrade. Then there is the energy cost of producing them... (although, interestingly, plastic bags are better than paper bags) .

This is an easy one to give up.

I bought an "onya" bag today - naff name, but a great idea. They are carrier bag-sized bags made out of parachute silk with a little built-in stuff sack so they pack up super tiny, weighing only 50g - so you always have one onya - geddit. http://www.onyabags.co.uk. It was £6 in the lovely deli in Balham, or you can buy online. Cheaper than those trendy designer "This is not a plastic bag" bags...

Meanwhile, a town in Devon has banned plastic bags, and Waitrose has become the latest supermarket to announce a trial two-week ban after the success of Sainsbury's one-day ban.

Sounds great, but we could go a lot further - a 15p "plastax" plastic bag tax in Ireland has lead to a 90% reduction in use. Taiwan has not only banned plastic bags, but also all disposable plastic packaging from fast food, resulting in a 25% reduction in landfill waste. And even the US are getting involved - later in the year, San Francisco will become the first major US city to ban non-biodegradable plastic bags.

So come on UK - keep up!