A Tax on Plastic Bags? - Yes Please!!!

[JamesS]

Last bank holiday weekend we turned east and sailed to Brighton to avoid the crush of holiday traffic in the Solent.

As before, once past Selsey we had the entire channel to ourselves with not a soul in sight.

The weather was glorious although the lack of wind left us no other option than a gentle motor sail.

Not having to maintain an intensive 360 deg watch for other boats, bouys, ferries and cargo vessels, gave the opportunity to observe just exactly what is in the sea all around us.

I lost track of counting the polythene bags skating earily along like giant jellyfish just below the surface. At times it was a constant stream - something you don't expect to see some 6 miles out.

As they will not self distruct, I guess these bags are likely to circle the oceans for the next hundred years or so, if you're lucky that is - the unlucky ones will find them wrapped around their props or being sucked into their cooling systems.

Given that the introduction of a tax in Ireland reduced the use of bags by 90% its time we took a leaf out of their book without further delay.

Cheers

 

[Cornishman]

Were they supermarket bags or the large agricultural type? The tax in Ireland is only on the supermarket variety, whereas the biggest culprits a sea are usually the fertiliser bags so carelessly discarded by some farmers. Sacks used to have a 5/- deposit repayable in the 'good old days'.
However, these days bags are made of a bio degradeable type of plastic so that they will probably fall apart after a year or so.

 

[Viking]

Here in Norway, all plastic supermarket bags are charged for. All plastic bottles ie Coke bottles, both large and small, a 'pant' is charged (deposit) which is refundable back at the shop through automatic collecting machines. This also includes beer and drink cans.

 

[gunnarsilins]

Same in Sweden.

Of course you´ll see an occasional bag in the water around major ports, but I would not regard them as a major problem.
But I´m not sure if it´s because of the charging system - even if you have to pay for it you still have to get rid of it after you carried your goods home, or aboard. But I think the majority of them ends up their life as rubbish bags.
But the "pant"-system, where you have to pay a deposit when you buy a can of beer or a bottle of soft drink results in noticeable less empty cans and bottles thrown away, compared with countries not having this system.

 

[Steve101]

I personally don't feel that's fair. I own a shop and spend around £2000 a year on carrier bags which we obviously give away free with a purchase. The customer isn't going to pay £20.04 to cover the cost of his/her bag now are they and I don't feel like spending even more on them than I already do! It seems a better idea that a law be levied that we be allowed to set fire to the offenders boat with a flair gun if they are caught in the act. Anyone agree?

 

[bedouin]

I think it would only really work if all shopkeepers were forced to charge their customers for the plastic bags, rather than give them away free (or perhaps a refundable deposit would work?).

I certainly agree that something ought to be done to reduce the number of plastic bags we get through - I must be given >300 per year, most of which are used once and then go straight in the bin.

The trouble with setting fire to the offenders boat is that there is a very high chance that said boat will be fibreglass. Setting light to that could end up giving off very nasty toxic fumes and there would also be the risk of environmental polution should the boat sink.

 

[Steve101]

It was just a thought! ;-)

 

[kdf]

In Ireland all shops must charge for plastic bags - 15 cents per bag billed to the customer. The exceptions are bags for fresh meat and such.

What most large shops due is sell you a so called "bag for life" - you bring it with you when you do your shopping and they pack what you buy into it. They even replace them for free if they break.

It has worked - its rare to see any plastic bags around and also saves the shop owners money!

 

[sailbadthesinner]

Re: Same in Sweden.

Crickey
i could buy a boat with my current recycling pile
it would be like enforced saving
each christmas i could get a new outboard or some such, after my annual trip to the machine.
I totally agre we need to do something
It is my enduring worry that future generations will look back at us and think
' the fools, all the signs were there and still they carried on.'


what do you reckon?

...It was like that when i found it!

 

[Gordonmc]

Interesting that the continental supermarket chains in the UK (Lidle, Aldo etc) don't give away plastic bags and it doesn't seem to dent their trade.
Personally I find it a sight easier to use a plastic crate to put the messages in - no crushing, no bags spilling all over the boot of the car/boat.
I can't follow the logic of the shopkeepers who say it will add to costs - they are paying for the bags in the first place. Or is the issue really the loss of a cheap advertising medium?

 

[Steve101]

If something costs you 5p and then is taxed it invariably adds to the costs..doh!
Aldi et al are down market, cost driven sails points where a tin of beans cost 6p and the customers don't care if they have to carry it home in an old pushchair!!
Diversifying just slightly; Years ago when a games console was on the market called the master system I remember having a young couple as customers. Every week they would buy two games (about £7 each, just about the cheapest they could buy!) I thought nothing of it until one week I was in Aldi and they where in front of me. On passing them the first thing that hit me was there smell (I'm sorry to all clean Aldi shoppers, but they absolutely stank!!!) and the second was the fact that they where arguing over whether they could afford a 6p tin of baked beans. I said hello and subsequently never saw them again. My point being certain shops can get away with not providing the shopping experience. Some (like me) cannot. Finally my initial point however flippant I may have made it was don't shoot the messenger. It aint the shop keeper who's dumping the bags in the water. It's Mr Pissy Pants with his Aldi carrier bag full of baked beans. OK, OK, perhaps setting alight to the boat with a flare was a bad idea. Make the bugger trawl round the bay picking up everybody elses rubbish or better still take a picture of the boat and post it on the marina notice board (Marina's are all about one's credibility after all).
Ad idem I apologise to anyone who shops at Aldi who I may have upset! I also used to shop there when I was starting out from my mother's apron and I can recommend the Chocolate Bourbons ;-)

 

[Steve101]

Damn good idea!

 

[Guest]

Re: A Tax on Plastic Bags? - No Way!!!

How else can the Italians navigate around their coast ?

They read the name on the bag and thus know which port is closest.

 

[Col]

You seem to think it is boaters discarding the bags, more likely to be pedestrians around the marinas.
As an aside, the worst place I have been to for rubbish in the water, was Toulouse on the Canal du midi. Every so often you see a bit of water floating in the plastic bag stream.

<A target="_blank" HREF=http://www.arweb.co.uk/argallery/colspics> Cols Picture Album</A>

 

[bedouin]

The problem is that in the UK there is a tendency to judge the quality of the service on the amount of packaging arround the goods.

At present we don't really have the option to say "no" to much of the packaging. Some companies - e.g. WH Smiths always ask you if you want a bag - but I usually say "Yes". And I seem to remember a couple of years ago one supermarket started charging for plastic bags - but they've probably given it up now. My local Tesco now does a "bag for life" offer where they replace the bag once it wears out.

As an individual shop-keeper it is very difficult to start charging for a plastic bag. However if the government insisted that the customer pays say 5p for each plastic bag, we could then have a genuine choice.

 

[Rob_Webb]

"The customer isn't going to pay £20.04 to cover the cost of his/her bag now are they...."

And why not?

 

[Rob_Webb]

Reality Check?

"As an individual shop-keeper it is very difficult to start charging for a plastic bag."


Maybe I'm just on a different wavelength to the rest of the world today but I tend to associate the phrase "very difficult" with problems like solving world poverty - not making a decision like this..... let's get some perspective, please!!!

 

[Guest]

Re: Reality Check?

To a retailer the question of packaging, plastic bags etc is a very difficult question. Issues only get resolved when government mandate them and that ensures a level playing field for all retailers. e.g what happened in Eire and the nordic countries.

Pete

 

[kdf]

Re: Reality Check?

Agreed

... but please don't call it Eire. We stopped using that name in 1925!

 

[Guest]

Re: Reality Check?

apologies