Plastic bag use plunges as Scots win war on litter
SCOTS used 129million fewer plastic bags i n the three months following the introduction of a 5p charge.
Ministers said the impact of the popular policy was ‘astounding’ and a significant triumph in the war on litter.
It is also a victory for the Daily Mail’s Banish the Bags campaign, launched in 2008 to fight the scourge of plastic bags littering the environment and killing wildlife.
Official figures show a fall from 193.5million bags used in the final three months of 2013, to 64.6million in the same period last year.
More than 60 retailers, including chains with multiple branches north of the Border, have signed up to the Carrier Bag Commitment, a volun- tary agreement operated by Zero Waste Scotland, to donate the net proceeds of the charge to good causes. This has seen £ 2million raised since the policy came into force in October last year.
Environment Secretary Richard Lochhead said the country was on track to achieve a reduction of more than 80 per cent.
He added: ‘ These astounding figures are yet another indication that the single-use carrier bag charge has been a tremendous success, driving behaviour change to reduce litter across our beautiful country and also the amount of resources we consume.
‘Litter is a blight on our environment and I am pleased so many consumers are now in the habit of reusing bags. The level of support from the public is extremely heartening. Previously, statistics showed that people in Scotland used more than 800million single-use carrier bags every year – more per head than elsewhere in the UK.
‘Scotland is serious about tackling litter, reducing waste and creating a cleaner, greener environment. I hope the public will continue to embrace reusing their bags and that even more retailers will sign up to donate money to good causes.’
Iain Gulland, chief executive of Zero Waste Scotland, said: ‘I congratulate people for the drop in single-use bags in circulation, as these items usually quickly end up either as litter or landfill.
‘I would encourage retailers to sign up to our Carrier Bag Commitment to enable clear reporting and donation to good causes.’
The success of the policy was welcomed by leading environmental campaigners.
Lang Banks, director of WWF Scotland, said: ‘Before the charge, Scotland consumed 800million carrier bags every year, many of which ended up polluting our environment and threatening wildlife.
‘The clear success of this initiative should encourage ministers to press on with other bold ideas to help make Scotland a zero-waste nation.’
Alison Johnstone, Scottish Greens MSP for Lothian, said: ‘ Figures showing a huge drop in the number of plastic bags used in Scotland are thanks to those common sense community campaigners whose efforts helped bring about this evolution in our daily habits.
‘I would hope these figures demonstrating the success of the legislation help to settle the plastic bag debate in Scotland and show the public can play a vital role in efforts to curb waste, cut litter and reduce environmental impact.’