I read an interesting article in yesterday's Guardian, about the shear amount of litter the 10 billion plastic carrier bags given to shoppers create. Unlike the Irish Government who introduced a tax for every un-recycleable bag purchased, our Government does seem to recognise the threat litter presents. There is a disappointingly unpopular petition on the 10 Downing Street website encouraging a plastic bag tax, but this is not enough. People's whole value systems and beliefs need to change and doing this is a major challenge for the those whose job it is to do this.
Look at Keep Britain Tidy, who have been rebranded ENCAMS. Not the best of campaigning charities and obviously not doing a brilliant job, as I increasingly see people dropping litter out of their cars (their personal space) onto the road (not my space), fags nonchanontly being stamped on on pavements and permanently white streets from the never-ending amounts of chewing gum being dropped casually. People must understand that public space is their space and it should be respected. ENCAMS have a tough challenge ahead of them, but I think that with some hard-hitting campaigns and education, us Brits can show others that we really do care about the way our country looks.
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I agree, plastic bags are a complete waste and as a nation we seem to go through a lot. It seems as though once again it has been left to those outside of government to affect change. There are some new designer bags (I forget which designer) which say, "I'm not a plastic bag" on them. They're supposed to encourage people to re-use them, I think they're only a fiver too so they're affordable for the vast majority of people. Apparently, there are waiting lists for them as they're proving so popular - hopefully this will signify the beginning of the public's perception towards recycling.
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