INCPEN, a research body, is constantly amazed by the misperceptions people have about their own impacts and those of their everyday activities.
For instance, did you know that an Environment Agency (EA) study found theres virtually no difference in environmental terms between washable and disposable nappies?
Or that when asked by Mori what one thing they could do to reduce their environmental impact, most people listed actions in exactly the opposite order of importance, wrongly putting recycling ahead of reducing energy consumption?
The latest study from the Environment Agency on the environmental impacts of different kinds of shopping bags is just the most recent example of the counter-intuitive nature of so many perceived wisdoms.
The EA found that lightweight plastic carrier bags far from being the environmental menace we have all been told actually have:
a quarter of the impact of heavier plastic Bags for life
one eleventh the impact of heavy duty, more durable plastic bags
a third of the impact of paper bags
one hundredth the impact of cotton bags
Impact
This assumes the lightweight carriers are not reused. However studies suggest that at least 40%, and probably as much as 80%, have a second life as bin liners, nappy bags etc, which reduces their impact still further.
Of course, this shouldn’t stop us remembering to take a bag with us when we go shopping, and re-using all types of bags as many times as possible but we should not wrongly demonise the bag that actually has the smallest environmental impact .
INCPEN welcomes the EAs study as an important contribution to the debate about carrier bags. The government is keen to use an evidence based approach to policy. We hope the Waste Policy Review will reflect these findings and that other countries will re-think their policies on bags.
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