Plastic Bags in the U.K.

The United Kingdom has recently witnessed a regional change in the use of plastic grocery bags.  While England has observed an increase in the distribution of these bags for the fifth consecutive year—reaching a staggering 8.5 billion for the region alone—Northern Ireland, Wales, and Scotland have each experienced significant decreases in the wasteful practice.  The variable that caused this phenomenon, a tax on the use of plastic shopping bags, has been introduced to each of these states within the past five years and has encouraged drastic declines in consumers’ use of these items: a 71% drop followed by a 43% drop since the 2013 act in Northern Ireland, a 78.2% drop in 18% since 2010, and an 18% drop in Scotland over the course of only one year.  Following in its neighbors’ footsteps, England should enact similar laws that pass levies on the use of wasteful plastic bags.  The solution has proven effective, and although some consumers may act as barriers to the cause by accepting the taxes and continuing their use of plastic bags in the marketplace, such taxes would likely decrease plastic bag use across the board.  I find the laws extremely sensible and, in the modern era of consumerism and wastefulness, a fresh, innovative method of promoting environmentally-friendly practices.

http://www.bbc.com/news/uk-33647326