Clegg calls on supermarkets to implement 5p plastic bag tax

[-:Undertaker:-]

It isn't because a small majority drops them though?!? Fair enough you use them but putting them in your bin doesn't magically make them biodegradeable. It will go to landfill sites and take years to decompose. You seem to be missing the point that cans and plastic bottle can be recycled. Also I swear chewing gum is already around 50p anyway.

They can be recyced but many are not and are simply dropped.

And again, your point on plastic bags - they actually disappear very quickly.

but undertaker it literally is 5p for a carrier bag. i think u have read too much into it!!! yes it limit ur freedom (well the stores freedom but they still ebenefit like i said). who gives an f about that when its 5p that ur paying (or not paying anything if u get reusable bags like a lot of peeps do already) and ur also helping the enviroment dramatically and giving to charity as well. every1 should be happy

i think ur issue is 1 only u have and it is not something to worry about. this is gd change for the majority of ppl and they will take to this change v well and see the positives like i am. i think u should start worrying about lack of freedoms when something more major comes along tbh! it is nice dsicussing with u but i am now going to focus on habbo closely and play that instead of discuss, c u later

I do worry about freedoms all the time, indeed that's why I post important topics (such as the EU and our civil liberties being eroded) along with smaller topics like this - just think that we've now got to the pathetic point whereby the government steps in over plastic bags.

As for giving to charity, i'll make that call thank you very much and not you on my behalf.

What?!? You don't have to pay for bags?! Guys don't complain, we've had this in place in Ireland for as long as I can remember (and people are still bloody giving out) and they're 22c here!

Which is another reason to oppose it here.

Some people on here make it sound like they can't take their own bags with them before they go shopping.

So do you refuse plastic bags and take your own when you go shopping?

[Kardan]

So do you refuse plastic bags and take your own when you go shopping?

I don't refuse them since I don't get offered them... And yes, we take our own when we go shopping

[-:Undertaker:-]

I don't refuse them since I don't get offered them... And yes, we take our own when we go shopping

Fair enough.

Well that's the solution then - lead by example and not by force.

[Red]

If they can be recycled then why aren't they then lol
How do they disappear quickly? Not an expert but a quick google search says it takes years...

[Kardan]

If they can be recycled then why aren't they then lol
How do they disappear quickly? Not an expert but a quick google search says it takes years...

Probably because of people's general laziness.

And by quickly, I think maybe he means quicker than the so claimed thousands of years.

[-:Undertaker:-]

If they can be recycled then why aren't they then lol
How do they disappear quickly? Not an expert but a quick google search says it takes years...

Well not to blow my own horn here but i'm rather observant of nature/the environment and I know from my own garden and even simple things such as barbed wire fencing that plastic bags fall apart very very quickly. As I have kept repeating throughout this discussion, when was the last time you saw a 2000 M&S Christmas bag fly past you or a 1997 Asda bag? you don't.

[Red]

Well not to blow my own horn here but i'm rather observant of nature/the environment and I know from my own garden and even simple things such as barbed wire fencing that plastic bags fall apart very very quickly. As I have kept repeating throughout this discussion, when was the last time you saw a 2000 M&S Christmas bag fly past you or a 1997 Asda bag? you don't.

well like I said, here we have people to clean up our streets x I'm sure if no one was left to pick up the litter it would be a different story.
I highly doubt its a myth that they are bad for the environment, and that all the experts are wrong on decomposition rates. They also have toxins form the dye which can contaminate the soil.

[Kardan]

Well not to blow my own horn here but i'm rather observant of nature/the environment and I know from my own garden and even simple things such as barbed wire fencing that plastic bags fall apart very very quickly. As I have kept repeating throughout this discussion, when was the last time you saw a 2000 M&S Christmas bag fly past you or a 1997 Asda bag? you don't.

Because people clean the streets On landfill sites it's a different matter however. I do remember seeing a vintage Walkers crisps packet the other day in someones front garden that was being done up though

[GommeInc]

Also, they do rot - when was the last time you saw a 1980s Sainburys bag or a 1999 M&S Christmas bag blowing around?

Funny you should say that. I have a load of white Sainsbury's bags from the 90s which are going as strong as ever They haven't disintegrated. They were replaced with the orange ones which you see today. That said, your point still remains - haven't seen any floating around, but they might have been picked up by refuse collectors or litter collectors over the years.

I don't see why a tax is necessary. Reusable bags made out of hemp or bags for life are a sound investment. If they're so good, just use them. Having a tax to force people to use them isn't so much about protecting the environment - that's just a by-product from lining the Government coffers. It's just an excuse to make money, with the environment coming second to it. If they really want people to use re-usable bags, advertise the benefits of re-usable bags. Humans, strangely, aren't that thick.

[-:Undertaker:-]

well like I said, here we have people to clean up our streets x I'm sure if no one was left to pick up the litter it would be a different story.
I highly doubt its a myth that they are bad for the environment, and that all the experts are wrong on decomposition rates. They also have toxins form the dye which can contaminate the soil.

Experts are often wrong and often exaggerate claims for political or financial purposes, you only have to look at my global warming thread.

Look, i'm against it on the principle of force being used. But if you think force should be used to 'clean up our streets' then fine - but i'm asking you to apply it equally against things you may enjoy too such as chewing gum which also makes a mess of the streets.

If somebody argues on principle then at least they have a viable argument and earn respect of the opposition rather than being all over the place.